ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Bovine Tuberculosis

David Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps his Department is taking to eliminate bovine tuberculosis in addition to the current cull of badgers.

David Heath: holding answer 13 June 2013
	There is no one solution to overcoming bovine TB. The Government is committed to a comprehensive and balanced approach to tackling bovine TB using all available tools. Badger culling is one of these tools. Numerous cattle controls are already in place, including:
	Routine surveillance testing of cattle herds with frequency of testing based on risk;
	Pre-movement testing of cattle from higher risk herds;
	Movement restrictions on animals from herds that have tested positive or inconclusive for bovine TB;
	The slaughter of all cattle that have tested positive for bovine TB;
	All cattle carcases inspected at slaughterhouses for evidence of TB;
	Advice and support for farmers that have had cases of bovine TB in their herds about bio-security and reducing the risk of bovine TB.
	In January 2013, the Government introduced further changes to the TB surveillance testing regime and cattle movement controls. Measures for controlling bovine TB in cattle will continue to form the backbone of our approach to tackling bovine TB and we will continue to look for ways to enhance them.
	The Government is also funding local deployment of injectable badger vaccine and significant investment in research and development, including the development of cattle and badger vaccines.
	The Government intends to publish an eradication strategy for consultation over the summer pulling all of these strands together.

Bovine Tuberculosis

David Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans he has to test a tuberculosis vaccine on (a) cattle and (b) badgers; and if he will make a statement.

David Heath: holding answer 13 June 2013
	We hope to have successfully completed all the cattle vaccine experimental work, including studies on safety of meat and milk, during 2014. We will then be able to make an application to the Veterinary Medicines Directorate for an Animal Test Certificate to begin the field trials proposed in EU Commissioner Tonio Borg's letter to the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs dated 14 January 2013.
	An injectable badger vaccine was licensed in 2010. We are investing in the development of an oral badger vaccine but this work is still at the research stage and we cannot say with any confidence when a usable vaccine might become available.

Bovine Tuberculosis

David Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps his Department is taking to work with Save Me, the Badger Trust and the RSPCA to look at alternatives to the forthcoming badger cull.

David Heath: holding answer 13 June 2013
	We regularly meet and correspond with a broad range of stakeholders, including wildlife and animal welfare groups, on bovine TB.
	There is no one solution to overcoming bovine TB. The Government is committed to a comprehensive and balanced approach to tackling bovine TB using all available tools. Badger culling is one of these tools.
	Nobody wants to cull badgers but the scientific evidence and experience of other countries clearly show that without tackling the reservoir of disease in badgers effectively we will never get on top of the disease in cattle.

Horses: Animal Welfare

Neil Parish: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether he plans to bring forward legislative proposals on the hot branding of horses and ponies; and if he will make a statement.

David Heath: There are no proposals to amend the existing legislation relating to hot branding. While the Government accepts that there is currently a need for semi-wild moorland ponies to be hot branded, we have asked the semi-wild moorland pony societies to prepare a code of practice on hot branding and to continue to look for suitable alternatives.

COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Buildings: Energy

Clive Betts: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much money has been included in the local authority settlement each year under the New Burdens Doctrine for compliance activity by trading standards officers in respect of the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive regulations since their introduction.

Brandon Lewis: Funding for Trading Standards is included in the Local Government Finance Settlement. Funding provided under the Local Government Finance Settlement can be used by local authorities to fund any service.

East of England Energy Group

Peter Aldous: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will take steps to facilitate the completion of outstanding and future payments from the European Regional Development Fund to the East of England Energy Group; and if he will make a statement.

Don Foster: I can confirm that Officials are working to conclude post-audit contract negotiations with the East of England Energy Group in order that outstanding and future payments can be resumed as an urgent priority.

Housing: Building Alterations

Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment his Department made of the cost implications for local councils of the changes to permitted developments for householders.

Nicholas Boles: This assessment is set out in ‘Extending Permitted Development Rights for Homeowners and Businesses Impact Assessment’, which is available at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/extending-permitted-development-rights-for-homeowners-and-businesses-impact-assessment
	The Department is engaging in discussions with the Local Government Association on its assessment of the impact on local authorities. Currently no net costs are envisaged.

Local Enterprise Partnerships: Arts

Harriet Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what guidance his Department has given to local enterprise partnerships to support the arts and creative industries.

Mark Prisk: holding answer 17 June 2013
	DCLG has not issued guidance on local enterprise partnerships’ role with the arts and creative industries. It is a matter for local enterprise partnerships to decide their own activities which will best support local economic growth. The West of England Local Enterprise Partnership, for example, has a strong focus on the creative industries which, through its Enterprise Zone, has offered planning permission for the 'Creative Common' project, securing arts at the heart of its plans.
	http://www.bristoltemplequarter.com/blog/creative/showtime-for-creative-common/

Local Government: Audit

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many local authorities have transferred audit work from the Audit Commission to one of the big four accountancy firms to date; and if he will estimate the likely cost to the public purse.

Brandon Lewis: In total, 186 out of 353 councils are now, collectively, audited by the big four accountancy firms. Appointments to 124 of these councils were made under the audit contracts that were let in 2012, when the work of the Audit Commission's in-house audit practice was outsourced to the private sector. The outsourcing of the Commission's in-house practice led to a reduction in fees of 40%, and savings over five years of over £250 million for local public bodies.
	The outsourcing of the Audit Commission's in-house audit practice brought two new firms into the market, increasing the number of suppliers in the market from five to seven and 13 firms passed the pre-qualification questionnaire.
	In developing the framework for local audit, we are working with regulatory bodies to ensure that we strike the right balance between maintaining a high quality of audit, and opening up the market to new entrants.

Planning Permission

Julian Huppert: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will make it his policy that a recently constructed outbuilding cannot be classified as an existing outbuilding and converted to residential accommodation without planning permission.

Nicholas Boles: An outbuilding can only be converted to residential accommodation without planning permission where this is ancillary to the use of the main house. This freedom allows homeowners to adapt their homes to meet changing family needs, for example by providing accommodation for an elderly parent or close relative.
	Local authority planning permission is required for the creation of a separate residential unit, and this provides protection against the use of outbuildings for 'beds in sheds'.

Rents: Arrears

Liam Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many cases of local authority housing rent arrears there have been since January 2010; and what the cost to local authorities' housing revenue accounts has been from such arrears in each month since January 2010.

Mark Prisk: holding answer 18 June 2013
	Information is not collected centrally on the number of cases in arrears. Statistics are available annually on the total value of rent arrears and the total value of the rent roll by local authority (Section H of the tables at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/73210/lahs-data-returns-for-2011-12.xls
	Taking into account inflation, the figures for England show there was no substantial change between 2009-10 and 2011-12.

Sleeping Rough

Lindsay Roy: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate he has made of the number of people sleeping rough in the UK.

Mark Prisk: The autumn 2012 total of rough sleeping counts and estimates in England was 2,309, as reported in the Department's statistical release of 6 February, which is available at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/rough-sleeping-in-england-autumn-2012
	Figures for the rest of the United Kingdom are a matter for each devolved Administration, although web-links to relevant information for Scotland and Wales are given on page 9 of the above statistical release.
	We are investing £470 million in homelessness prevention over four years (2011-12 to 2014-15). This includes £20 million for a Homelessness Transition Fund to support the national roll out of No Second Night Out and protect vital front line services. All local authorities have adopted the No Second Night Out approach.
	The CHAIN (Combined Homeless and Information Network which covers London and contains detailed information on London's rough sleepers over the year) bi-monthly data for March-April 2013 shows that No Second Night Out helped ensure that 80% of new rough sleepers spend just a single night on London's streets.
	We have also supported the voluntary sector to develop a new service—Streetlink. The national hotline (0300 500 0914) and website:
	www.streetlink.org.uk
	enables the public to ensure rough sleepers are found quickly and offered the support they need to get off the streets. Over 17,600 members of the public contacted Streetlink to pass on details of people they believed were sleeping rough since the scheme launched on 11 December 2012 up to the end of April 2013. Of these, over 5,399 referrals were made to local authorities to investigate.

TRANSPORT

Airbus A380

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of likely changes in the number of A380s flying into London airports in the next 10 years.

Simon Burns: In 2012 there were nearly 6,000 movements of A380s in and out of London airports. The Department's aviation forecasting model suggests that between 2012 and 2023 there will be an additional 10,000 movements in and out of London airports by A380s.

Airbus A380

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps he plans to take to ensure that an increase in the number of Airbus A380s landing at Heathrow airport does not affect the continued operation of runway alternation.

Simon Burns: The increasing use of aircraft like the Airbus A380 at Heathrow airport, which are typically both larger and quieter than the aircraft they replace, could help the airport operator and airlines to make more effective use of the existing runway capacity at our biggest and busiest airport while reducing the noise impact on local communities.
	On the issue of runway alternation, the trial of operational freedoms at Heathrow included proactive tests to better understand the relationship between alternation and the arrival of A380s in order to maintain airport operations while respecting spacing rules for protection from wake vortices. The Government intends to consult on the results of the trial in due course.

Electric Vehicles

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  what his policy is on the introduction of mandatory approaching vehicle audible systems in electric vehicles;
	(2)  whether he has had recent discussions with electric vehicle manufacturers regarding approaching vehicle audible systems; and if he will make a statement.

Norman Baker: I am currently considering whether to revise our negotiating approach to the introduction of a mandatory requirement for audible systems in electric vehicles. I have discussed this issue with the Guide Dogs Association and the Royal National Institute of Blind People. However, I have not yet had any discussions on this topic with electric vehicle manufacturers.

Great Western Railway Line

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent discussions he has had with Directly Operated Railways and GW Railways Ltd regarding the Great Western franchise extension.

Simon Burns: Departmental officials meet regularly with Directly Operated Railways Ltd and GW Railways Ltd to discuss the contingency work that they are undertaking in connection with the Great Western Franchise. This contingency work is designed to ensure that the Secretary of State for Transport, my right hon. Friend the Member for Derbyshire Dales (Mr McLoughlin), can discharge his statutory obligations under Section 30 of the Railways Act 1993, to protect the continuity of rail services should negotiations with First Great Western not be successfully concluded.

Great Western Railway Line

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent progress he has made on negotiations towards a short-term extension of the Great Western franchise due to commence in October 2013.

Simon Burns: The Secretary of State for Transport, my right hon. Friend the Member for Derbyshire Dales (Mr McLoughlin), announced on 31 January this year that he intended to negotiate a new interim franchise agreement with First Great Western to secure continuity of train services after the end of the current franchise agreement, which terminates on 12 October 2013. These negotiations are proceeding as planned.

Heathrow Airport

Stephen McPartland: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make it his policy that Heathrow airport be renamed Churchill airport.

Simon Burns: The Government's Aviation Policy Framework does not comment on how individual airports in the UK are named. Decisions regarding the renaming of airports are a matter for individual airports' owners.

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans his Department has for the interface between Cross Rail and High Speed 2 at Heathrow airport.

Simon Burns: At present, detailed plans have not yet been made for how High Speed 2 will interface with Crossrail at Heathrow airport. However, an interchange between Crossrail, Great Western and High Speed 2 will be provided through a new station at Old Oak Common in West London as part of Phase One of HS2. This interchange will enable direct links to Heathrow airport.
	Work on the HS2 spur to Heathrow has been paused pending the publication of the Airports Commission's work to examine the need for additional runway capacity in the UK.

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether double decker trains will be permitted to operate on the High Speed 2 line.

Simon Burns: HS2 will be built to the European standard structure gauge for new lines—GC Gauge—which is the same as HS1. This gauge permits double deck trains to be operated.

Level Crossings

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent steps his Department has taken to increase awareness about the potential dangers of using level crossings.

Simon Burns: The Department works closely with Network Rail, in its role as operator of the majority of level crossings in Great Britain, to ensure that members of the public are aware of the potential dangers.
	We have supported Network Rail in developing its awareness programmes including its ongoing national television and radio campaign ‘Don't Run The Risk’, holding awareness days at level crossings and working directly with schools and user groups.
	We welcome Network Rail's continuous efforts to reduce risks and improve level crossing safety.

Railway Stations

Lilian Greenwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what bids he considered for awards from the New Stations Fund; and whether the New Stations Fund will be underspent.

Simon Burns: Funding from the New Stations Fund has been awarded to four stations at Newcourt in Devon, Ilkeston in Derbyshire, Lea Bridge in the London borough of Waltham Forest, and Pye Corner near Newport, totalling around £8.6 million. The strong case for a station at Kenilworth was noted, therefore we are minded to provide funding of £5 million towards this new station, subject to the new station's integration into the programme of wider improvement works in the area, which are set out in Network Rail's Strategic Business Plan published in January 2013.
	There is a potential underspend of £6.4 million which is being held as a programme contingency until the final costs of each of the stations is confirmed. These costs will be clarified when the schemes are fully designed and developed.

Railways

Julie Hilling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many (a) new national rail stations and (b) miles of new or reopened miles of passenger lines have been brought into service in (i) Scotland, (ii) Wales and (iii) each region of England in each of the last 10 years.

Simon Burns: The following table shows the number of new railway stations opened in Scotland, Wales and each region of England in each of the last 10 years and so far in 2013.
	
		
			 New railway stations opened by region: Great Britain 2003-13 
			 Region 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009(1) 2010 2011 2012 2013(2) 
			 East Midlands 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 
			 East of England 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 
			 London 0 0 0 0 3 3 2 4 0 0 0 
			 North East 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 North West 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 
			 Scotland 1 0 5 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 1 
			 South East 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 
			 South West 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Wales 0 0 2 0 1 6 0 0 0 0 0 
			 West Midlands 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 
			 Yorkshire and Humber 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Total 2 1 8 1 5 11 5 4 2 0 2 
			 (1) Excludes the temporary station opened at Workington North. (2) Up to the end of May 2013. 
		
	
	The Department for Transport does not hold information on the number of miles of new or reopened passenger lines that have been brought into service in Scotland, Wales and each region of England in each of the last 10 years. This information may be held by Network Rail. Network Rail can be contacted at the following address:
	Network Rail
	Kings Place
	90 York Way
	London
	N1 9AG

Railways

Clive Betts: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many (a) new national rail stations and (b) miles of new or reopened miles of passenger lines have opened in (i) England outside London, (ii) Wales, (iii) Scotland and (iv) London in each of the last 10 years.

Simon Burns: The following table shows the number of new railway stations opened in Scotland, Wales, London and in England outside London in each of the last 10 years and so far in 2013.
	
		
			 New railway stations opened by region: Great Britain 2003-13 
			 Region 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009(1) 2010 2011 2012 2013(2) 
			 Scotland 1 0 5 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 1 
			 Wales 0 0 2 0 1 6 0 0 0 0 0 
			 London 0 0 0 0 3 3 2 4 0 0 0 
			 England outside London 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 0 2 0 1 
			 Total 2 1 8 1 5 11 5 4 2 0 2 
			 (1) Excludes the temporary station opened at Workington North. (2) Up to the end of May 2013. 
		
	
	The Department for Transport does not hold information on the number of miles of new or reopened passenger lines that have been opened in Scotland, Wales, London and in England outside London in each of the last 10 years. This information may be held by Network Rail. Network Rail can be contacted at the following address:
	Network Rail
	Kings Place
	90 York Way
	London
	N1 9AG

Rescue Services

Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many and what proportion of shifts at maritime rescue co-ordination centres were staffed at below risk-assessed levels in May 2013.

Stephen Hammond: Out of the 930 watch-keeping shifts worked across all Maritime Rescue Co-ordination Centres (MRCCs) during May 2013, 175.8 individual shifts were staffed at below risk-assessed levels. These situations are mitigated by ‘MRCC pairing’ where each MRCC is connected to at least one other MRCC which is available to provide mutual support.

Rescue Services: Belfast

Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport on how many occasions the Maritime Rescue Co-ordination Centre, Belfast was staffed at below risk-assessed levels in May 2013.

Stephen Hammond: In May 2013 the Maritime Rescue Co-ordination Centre (MRCC) in Belfast was staffed below risk-assessed levels on 37 occasions out of 62 shifts.
	These situations are mitigated by ‘MRCC pairing’ where each MRCC is connected to at least one other MRCC which is available to provide mutual support. In respect of Belfast MRCC mutual support is available through a fixed link from Stornoway MRCC and dial up links from the MRCCs at Shetland, Aberdeen, Liverpool or Holyhead.

Rescue Services: Stornoway

Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport on how many occasions Maritime Rescue Co-ordination Centre, Stornoway was staffed at below risk-assessed levels in May 2013.

Stephen Hammond: In May 2013 Stornoway Maritime Rescue Co-ordination Centre (MRCC) was staffed below risk-assessed levels on seven occasions out of 62 shifts.
	These situations are mitigated by ‘MRCC pairing’ where each MRCC is connected to at least one other MRCC which is available to provide mutual support. In respect of Stornoway MRCC mutual support is available through a fixed link from Belfast MRCC and dial up links from the MRCCs at Shetland or Aberdeen.

Roads: Repairs and Maintenance

Graham Stringer: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what meetings his Department has held to review the road maintenance block grant since 1 January 2010; with whom those meetings were held; and what the outcome was of those meetings.

Norman Baker: Information in respect of the Highways Maintenance Block Review Group, including representatives who sit on the group, as well as meetings that have taken place since January 2010, is available at the following web link:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/local-transport-capital-block-funding
	The Department for Transport is currently testing a number of options in respect of a revised funding formula to be in place for 2015-16 and is expecting to hold a consultation on a number of possible funding formula options in due course.

Traffic Lights

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he has to promote the use of cycle-specific traffic lights.

Stephen Hammond: DFT officials are working closely with Transport for London on a project trialling a range of new measures, including low-level signals for cyclists. We are also working with Cambridgeshire county council, who are trialling the use of cycle filter signals.
	Assuming a successful outcome, we would consider prescribing these signals in regulations or authorising on a wider basis. They would then become part of the range of cycling infrastructure measures available.

Transport: Finance

Clive Betts: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much funding his Department has already provided, or is planning to provide, over the period of the current Spending Review, to (a) Transport for London and local transport authorities outside London and (b) protect local bus fares from inflationary increases.

Norman Baker: The Department for Transport does not pay money direct to local transport authorities outside London for the purpose of lowering bus fares. However, DfT does make funding available to bus operators in the form of Bus Service Operators Grant (BSOG), which can be used for this purpose. In 2012/13 around £350 million was paid out to operators in England in the form of BSOG.
	The Department for Transport made an additional £136m available to Transport for London (TfL) in 2012 and £96m in 2013 to enable the Mayor to hold down the planned fare rises to RPI+1% for the remainder of the current Spending Review period. This funding covers all modes, including bus, Tube, DLR, tram and Overground rail. It is not possible to disaggregate how much of this was spent on bus fares. Responsibility for setting fares rests with the Mayor and TfL.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Disability Living Allowance

Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many recipients of disability living allowance in (a) Jarrow constituency, (b) South Tyneside, (c) the North East and (d) the UK have been interviewed and had their benefits reassessed since May 2010; and how many such assessments (i) resulted in award of a lower level of benefit, (ii) led to the removal of all the allowance and (iii) were successful on appeal.

Mark Hoban: The information requested is not available centrally. We estimate that gathering this information would incur disproportionate costs.

Disciplinary Proceedings

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many staff were suspended from his Department and its associated public bodies on full pay in (a) 2010-11, (b) 2011-12 and (c) 2012-13; and what costs were incurred as a result of such suspensions.

Mark Hoban: An employee would be suspended from duty in exceptional circumstances and in line with the Civil Service Management Code. This would usually be after an allegation of serious or gross misconduct has been made against an employee and it is necessary to remove them from work, for example, to ensure the integrity of the subsequent investigation or to prevent a repeat offence. The cost involved relates specifically to the continued payment of salary.
	The number of staff suspended from the ministerial Department and the costs incurred are provided in the following table.
	
		
			  Year end headcount Number of staff suspended Suspensions as percentage of headcount Costs incurred (£000) 
			 2010-11 109,445 59 0.05 407.2 
			 2011-12 99,958 45 0.04 281.7 
			 2012-13 96,386 39 0.04 208.8 
		
	
	NDPBs and public bodies
	The number of staff suspended on full pay within each of the Department's NDPB's and public bodies, who have been able to respond, is between one and four individuals. As the numbers are low individuals may be identified. For this reason these figures have not been disclosed.

Employment and Support Allowance: Mental Illness

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make it his policy that people with mental health problems should not be relied on to gather themselves all the medical evidence relevant to their application for employment and support allowance.

Mark Hoban: People with mental health problems are not always relied on to gather all medical evidence relevant to their application for employment and support allowance (ESA) themselves. Existing guidelines for Atos health care professionals allow them in defined circumstances to request further medical evidence to confirm that the limited capability for work or work related activity criteria would be met and so avoid those face-to-face assessments which are clearly unnecessary.
	There is also an existing safeguard in the Work Capability Assessment (WCA) process for people with mental health problems whereby their claim is not ended if they fail to complete and return their ESA50, and they are instead called for a face-to-face assessment.
	A recent judgment in a judicial review against the WCA found that claimants with a mental health problem suffer a substantial disadvantage or experience an unreasonably adverse experience going through the WCA process, but importantly it:
	“rejected the... primary case that it would be reasonable for FME (further medical evidence) always be sought at an early stage in the process of the assessment of the entitlement to ESA of claimants with MHPs (mental health problems)”.
	DWP has been asked to provide further evidence to help determine whether there are any reasonable adjustments that could be made to the process.
	We disagree with the judicial review-judgment and have lodged our application for leave to appeal it with the Court of Appeal.

Housing Benefit: Social Rented Housing

Stephen Lloyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much was allocated in discretionary housing payment funding to (a) each local authority, (b) England, (c) Scotland and (d) Wales in 2012-13.

Steve Webb: The total discretionary housing payment allocation for Great Britain in 2012-13 was £67.9 million. This comprised £60 million annual allocation and £7.9 million of unspent funding from 2011-12 which local authorities were exceptionally allowed to keep.
	A detailed breakdown of the allocations for 2012-13 by nation and local authority has been placed in the Library.

Pension Protection Fund

Richard Harrington: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what progress he is making with his planned reforms to the compensation cap on the Pension Protection Fund.

Steve Webb: The Department has carried out a review and we hope to make an announcement shortly.

Property

Margaret Curran: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the (a) location and (b) value is of any property his Department owns in Scotland.

Mark Hoban: In 1998 the Department for Work and Pensions sold its interest in the estate it occupied under the Private Sector Resource Initiative for Management of the Estate (PRIME) and now leases back fully serviced accommodation in a 20 year PFI deal with Telereal Trillium.
	Therefore the Department for Work and Pensions does not own any properties in Scotland.

Social Exclusion

Debbie Abrahams: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps his Department is taking to tackle social exclusion.

Esther McVey: We published our ‘Social Justice: transforming lives’ strategy in March 2012. A copy can be found in the Library.
	Previous approaches to tackling poverty have focused on increasing income levels to bring people above the poverty line. The social justice strategy goes much further, exploring how tackling the root causes of problems can make real and sustained changes to the lives of those who face social exclusion.
	On 24 April 2013, we published ‘Social Justice: transforming lives—one year on’, which highlights the progress made since the publication of the strategy and against seven social justice indicators, ‘yardsticks’ of success for the strategy. A copy can be found in the Library.
	We will publish a second report by November 2014.

Social Security Benefits

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will estimate the amount no longer spent by his Department on people in (a) North-East Lincolnshire and (b) Henley-on-Thames as a result of all changes made to the welfare system since May 2010.

Mark Hoban: The information is not available, and could be calculated only at disproportionate cost.

Social Security Benefits

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many non-working age households currently have benefit income, excluding housing benefit, above the level of the benefit cap; and, of those, how many he estimates will have benefit income above the cap level after the cap is in place.

Mark Hoban: Non-working age households are not within the scope of the benefit cap policy. As such the information is not readily available.

Social Security Benefits

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether it is his policy that, for non-working households whose benefit income other than housing benefit exceeds the level of the benefit cap, their benefit income will not be reduced to the level of the cap; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Hoban: The majority of households who currently receive benefits in excess of the cap level will be in receipt of housing benefit and they will have the cap applied from April 2013 in line with the Department's announced time-table for its phased-rollout. We are aware that there may be a small number of households whose income from benefits other than housing benefit exceeds the level of the cap and these will continue to receive benefits over the cap level until their claims migrate to universal credit.

Universal Credit: East Ham

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what his latest estimate is of the first date on which residents of East Ham constituency will be able to apply for universal credit.

Mark Hoban: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave the right hon. Member for Birmingham, Hodge Hill (Mr Byrne), on 3 June 2013, Official Report, column 1052W.
	Universal credit will progressively roll out in a carefully managed and controlled way from October 2013 with all those who are entitled to UC claiming the new benefit by 2017.

Work Capability Assessment

Tom Clarke: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  how many individuals with chronic fatigue syndrome have been classified as Fit for Work under the Atos Back to Work assessments;
	(2)  how many individuals with chronic fatigue syndrome have been successful in appealing against a Fit for Work judgement under the Atos Fit for Work assessments.

Mark Hoban: Information on chronic fatigue syndrome is not held, however we do hold information classified in two broader categories by the World Health Organisation International Categorisation of Diseases 2010. Note that the totals are likely to over-estimate the actual numbers with CFS, as these categories include unrelated conditions.
	Of those that have had an initial work capability assessment on a new claim for employment and support allowance starting between October 2008 and August 2012, 9,900 had a primary condition in the broader categories which include CFS and were found fit for work. Of those starting their claim between October 2008 and February 2012, 2,100 had their fit for work decision overturned at appeal.
	Numbers have been rounded to the nearest 100.

Work Capability Assessment

Richard Harrington: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what comparative assessment he has made of the number of complaints made against Atos and any other firm carrying out work capability assessments.

Mark Hoban: Atos Healthcare is the only organisation conducting work capability assessments at this time and therefore a comparison is not possible.

Work Capability Assessment: Appeals

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much his Department spent on legal representation in appeals against decisions on benefits entitlement made following work capability assessments in 2011-12.

Mark Hoban: Between April 2011 and April 2012, the Department for Work and Pensions handled 350,295 benefit appeals at First Tier Tribunal level, not all of which were related to the work capability assessment. Each invoice for 2011 and 2012 would therefore need to be analysed on an individual basis and this would incur disproportionate cost.

Work Programme

Tom Clarke: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  how many participants in the Work programme have been successful in finding employment since its inception;
	(2)  how many individuals have participated in the Work programme since its inception.

Mark Hoban: The information as requested on the number of people who have been placed into employment from the Work programme is not available.
	The information we do have shows the number of Work programme referrals and job outcomes and this can be found in the Employment Programmes section at:
	http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/index.php?page=tabtool
	Guidance for users is available at:
	http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd1/tabtools/guidance.pdf
	Statistics covering Work programme referrals, attachments and job outcomes to March 2013 will be published on 27 June 2013.

Work Programme: Wales

Owen Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Work programme in tackling unemployment in Wales.

Mark Hoban: The Department publishes regular official job outcome statistics for the Work programme, broken down by contract package area and provider. The next figures will be published on 27 June and on a quarterly basis thereafter. In addition, we have commissioned independent research to evaluate delivery and performance of the programme, involving research in England, Scotland and Wales. A final report will be published in 2015.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Animal Welfare

David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what meetings (a) she and (b) her ministerial colleagues have held with representatives from the animal welfare sector between 1 January 2013 and 13 June 2013.

James Brokenshire: Home Office Ministers and officials have meetings with a wide variety of international partners, as well as organisations and individuals in the public and private sectors, as part of the process of policy development and delivery. Details of these meetings are passed to the Cabinet Office on a quarterly basis and are subsequently published on the Cabinet Office website:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/quarterly-reports-of-ministers-meetings-with-outside-interest-groups

Asylum

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment she has made of the (a) performance of G4S in delivering its COMPASS contract for asylum seekers and (b) capacity of G4S to make provision for vulnerable asylum seekers under that contract.

Mark Harper: In July 2009, the UK Border Agency announced the launch of the Commercial and Operational Managers Procuring Asylum Support Services (COMPASS) Project to procure accommodation, transport and related services for asylum applicants. In 2012 G4S was awarded. COMPASS contracts in the North East, Yorkshire and Humber Region and the Midlands and East of England Region. The COMPASS procurement project was conducted in line with EU Procurement Regulations. Following extensive market engagement, options analysis and appraisal a range of potential suppliers were identified as being capable of delivering the services against a range of criteria including financial strength, experience in delivering services to Government, quality, cost, risks and benefits. The potential suppliers were invited to submit proposals. The proposals were extensively evaluated by a team of operational, financial and commercial experts who were aware of the statutory obligations of the Home Office and the complexities of providing these services. The evaluation and subsequent due diligence testing of the proposals confirmed that G4S to be a fit and proper organisation with the capacity and expertise to deliver integrated accommodation, transport and related services to asylum applicants.
	COMPASS Contracts define the required performance standards expected of all providers and also contain prescribed performance and governance regimes.
	Since mobilisation of COMPASS contracts in June 2012 G4S have attended monthly contract board meetings where they report on their performance. Every three months they have attended a strategic review to discuss past performance and future activity.
	G4S performance is satisfactory. Where shortfalls in performance have been identified the performance regime has been applied and improvement plans developed and implemented.

Asylum

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many returned asylum seekers returned to their country of origin have since returned to the UK and have been accepted as victims of persecution in the last five years.

Mark Harper: The data requested is shown in the following table:
	
		
			 Table 1: Asylum grants following previous removal 2008-12 
			  Grants 
			 2008 5 
			 2009 15 
			 2010 30 
			 2011 35 
			 2012 25 
			 Total 110 
			 Notes: 1. The figures quoted have been derived from management information and are therefore provisional and subject to change. This information has not been quality assured under National Statistics protocols. 2. Figures relate to main applicants only. 3. Figures relate to grants of asylum between 1 January 2008 and 31 December 2012 where the decision followed a removal linked to a previous asylum application. 4. Removals may include voluntary and third country removals. 5. Figures round to nearest five and may not come to total because of independent rounding.

Asylum: Children

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many children seeking asylum in the UK have been subject to the use of physical force in the last six months.

Mark Harper: There have been no reports during the last six months of the use of physical force against a person seeking asylum in the UK who is under the age of 18.

Asylum: Children

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many children seeking asylum in the UK have been strip-searched in the last six months.

Mark Harper: The Department is not aware of any instances where a person under the age of 18 has been strip searched in the course of Immigration or Border Force activity in the last six months, including those seeking asylum.
	As a matter of policy, the Department and its agents do not strip search persons under the age of 18 in the course of Immigration or Border Force activity.
	The Home Office has a duty under section 55 of the Borders, Citizenship and Immigration Act 2009 to carry out its immigration, asylum, nationality and customs functions having regard to the need to safeguard and promote the welfare of children in the UK.

Asylum: Finance

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she last assessed the performance of the Azure card.

Mark Harper: The card is provided to destitute failed asylum seekers who require support because they are temporarily unable to leave the United Kingdom and the performance of it is reviewed regularly. The Government is satisfied that the card is an effective way of ensuring the individuals are able to buy food and other items to cover their essential living needs.

Borders: Personal Records

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what progress has been made on reaching a settlement with Raytheon Systems Ltd on the e-Borders programme; and when the arbitration progress is scheduled to be completed.

Mark Harper: The dispute with Raytheon Systems Ltd is the subject of a confidential binding arbitration. We have recently entered the decision phase and we anticipate, in view of the complexity of the case, that this may take many months.

Capita

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much her Department currently spends on contracts with Capita; and how much was spent in each year since 2008.

James Brokenshire: For the last full financial year, 2012-13, the Home Department's total expenditure on contracts with Capita was £76 million.
	The Home Department's expenditure on contracts with Capita since financial year 2008-09 is detailed in the following table. Spend figures for the current financial year 2013-14 are not yet available.
	
		
			 Financial year £ million 
			 2009-10(1) 58.9 
			 2010-11 55.7 
			 2011-12 53.8 
			 2012-13 76 
			 (1) FY 2008-09 and 2009-10 does not include Her Majesty's Passport Office spend.

Criminal Investigation

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of police investigations were dropped before a charge was brought against the accused in the latest period for which figures are available.

Damian Green: holding answer 17 June 2013
	The information requested is not collected centrally by the Home Office. The Home Office collects information on the number of persons arrested however these data are not linked with details of any subsequent outcome.

Cybercrime

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps she is taking to tighten control over illegal internet sites.

James Brokenshire: Working in partnership with law enforcement, industry and charities, we have taken significant steps to remove illegal child sexual abuse content from the internet, block access to such material, and to take action against those responsible for it. The UK has a clear process by which criminal images of child sexual abuse can be reported and for websites containing such images to be blocked by Internet Service Providers (ISPs). The Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, my right hon. Friend the Member for Basingstoke (Maria Miller), invited the major ISPs, mobile operators, and others, to a summit on 18 June to discuss what more could be done to minimise internet harm, which the Policing Minister attended.
	The internet continues to be used as a central platform by Al Qaida and other terrorists and extremists. Extremist material online can contribute to an individual becoming radicalised. The Counter Terrorism Internet Referral Unit is taking down and filtering more and more unlawful content online. To date, this unit has removed 5,700 pieces of online terrorist content and blocked around 1,000.

Deportation: Children

Lindsay Roy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many children have been deported by the UK Border Agency in each of the last three years.

Mark Harper: The following table provides the total number of enforced removals of children under 18 in each of the last three years from the UK.
	
		
			 Total enforced removals of children under 18 from the UK(1, 2, 3) 2010 to 2012 
			  2010 2011(4) 2012(4) 
			 Enforced removals of children under 18 from the UK 352 180 208 
			     
			 Under 14 296 140 176 
			 14-15 26 9 14 
			 16-17 30 31 18 
			 (1) Enforced removals are where it has been established that a person has breached UK immigration laws and has no valid leave to remain within the United Kingdom. UKBA/Home Office enforces their departure to ensure they leave the UK. (2) Removals are recorded on the system as at the dates on which the data extracts were taken. (3) Age recorded at the time of departure from the UK. (4) Provisional figures. Figures may under record due to data cleansing that take place after the extracts are taken. 
		
	
	Deportations are included in published enforced removals statistics which are either following a criminal conviction (foreign national offenders) or when it is judged that a person's removal from the UK is conducive to the public good; the deportation order prohibits the person returning to the UK until such time as it may be revoked. It is not possible to separately identify deportations from enforced removals.
	The Home Office publishes quarterly and annual statistics on the number of persons removed or departed voluntarily from the UK within Immigration Statistics. The data on removals and voluntary departures by type, age at departure date and sex is available in the latest release, Immigration Statistics: January-March 2013, table rv_02 (volume 1) web pages at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/home-office/series/immigration-statistics-quarterly-release
	and also available from the Library of the House.

Domestic Violence

Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent assessment she has made of the scale of under-reporting of domestic abuse.

Jeremy Browne: The latest data from the Office for National Statistics (Focus on: Violent Crime and Sexual Offences, 2011-12) indicate that there is an under-reporting of domestic violence and abuse. For example, only 5% of respondents who reported being victims of domestic violence and abuse in the self-completion module of the Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) had reported that they were victims of domestic violence and abuse in face-to-face interviews in the same survey, reflecting the sensitivity and complexity of this topic. The under-reporting of crime to the police is known to be particularly acute for intimate violence.
	We recognise this under-reporting and are working with the College of Policing and the voluntary sector to ensure that victims of domestic and sexual violence feel able to come forward and report these crimes.
	We also have a comprehensive programme to tackle domestic and sexual violence. This is set out in the Government's Violence Against Women and Girls Action Plan.

Firearms: Licensing

David Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many gun licences were issued by each police force in (a) 2009-10, (b) 2010-11, (c) 2011-12 and (d)  2012-13.

Damian Green: The following tables provide the number of firearms and shotgun certificates issued in each police force area in England and Wales, for each of the years 2009-10 to 2011-12. These data are published annually in the Home Office statistical release ‘Firearm and Shotgun Certificates in England and Wales’.
	
		
			 Table 1: Firearm certificates: new applications, renewal applications and variation of applications granted, by police force area, 2009-10 to 2011-12 
			  2009-10 2010-11 
			  New applications granted Renewal applications granted Variation of applications granted certificate New applications granted Renewal applications granted Variation of applications granted certificate 
			 Avon and Somerset 343 570 313 449 1,448 358 
			 Bedfordshire 73 167 107 131 406 140 
			 Cambridgeshire 192 270 166 226 683 169 
			 Cheshire 180 262 120 174 641 124 
			 Cleveland 80 87 50 80 244 69 
			 Cumbria 188 320 172 152 813 165 
			 Derbyshire 175 292 151 237 724 200 
			 Devon and Cornwall 632 823 457 964 2,437 542 
			 Dorset 206 275 152 241 707 144 
			 Durham 226 288 218 182 622 188 
			 Essex 413 538 354 389 1,159 316 
			 Gloucestershire 129 205 131 169 631 158 
			 Greater Manchester 140 241 132 197 504 152 
			 Hampshire 325 464 273 309 1,121 298 
			 Hertfordshire 159 240 141 186 498 176 
			 Humberside 199 179 149 212 572 197 
			 Kent 412 483 345 509 1,238 370 
			 Lancashire 208 317 204 255 675 206 
			 Leicestershire 149 232 142 177 469 170 
			 Lincolnshire 300 426 230 290 1,002 213 
			 London, City of 1 1 — 0 0 0 
			 Merseyside 57 82 54 67 255 56 
			 Metropolitan Police 317 473 250 469 937 343 
			 Norfolk 400 378 281 465 985 301 
			 Northamptonshire 107 235 135 97 537 231 
			 Northumbria 185 281 182 285 1,003 210 
			 North Yorkshire 309 586 263 426 1,643 321 
			 Nottinghamshire 101 193 119 140 447 137 
			 South Yorkshire 136 170 150 178 379 187 
			 Staffordshire 172 280 145 198 707 166 
			 Suffolk 308 423 212 335 1,151 244 
			 Surrey 216 254 173 248 644 211 
			 Sussex 445 508 350 455 1,319 370 
			 Thames Valley 336 639 303 375 1,772 343 
			 Warwickshire 101 220 93 159 539 121 
			 West Mercia 457 533 311 456 1,356 307 
			 West Midlands 124 225 145 146 421 189 
			 West Yorkshire 218 286 181 231 515 168 
			 Wiltshire 190 267 159 286 765 218 
			 Dyfed-Powys 223 285 140 315 777 160 
			 Gwent 77 120 95 93 251 126 
			 North Wales 127 224 111 182 730 144 
			 South Wales 126 158 116 151 405 146 
			        
			 England and Wales 9,462 13,500 7,975 11,286 34,132 9,054 
		
	
	
		
			  2011-12 
			  New applications granted Renewal applications granted Variation of applications granted certificate 
			 Avon and Somerset 421 1,439 362 
			 Bedfordshire 122 422 101 
			 Cambridgeshire 219 719 166 
			 Cheshire 180 762 138 
			 Cleveland 105 230 64 
			 Cumbria 136 701 141 
			 Derbyshire 229 718 203 
			 Devon and Cornwall 906 2,319 570 
			 Dorset 353 848 171 
			 Durham 171 611 210 
			 Essex 413 1,191 345 
			 Gloucestershire 138 701 164 
			 Greater Manchester 211 531 178 
			 Hampshire 384 1,294 286 
			 Hertfordshire 195 554 153 
			 Humberside 232 788 205 
			 Kent 476 1,141 321 
			 Lancashire 257 734 213 
			 Leicestershire 194 516 136 
			 Lincolnshire 244 978 241 
			 London, City of 2 0 0 
			 Merseyside 72 238 66 
			 Metropolitan Police 462 1,055 307 
			 Norfolk 450 1,180 300 
		
	
	
		
			 Northamptonshire 146 625 118 
			 Northumbria 275 992 218 
			 North Yorkshire 469 1,625 363 
			 Nottinghamshire 126 420 110 
			 South Yorkshire 176 443 191 
			 Staffordshire 177 568 179 
			 Suffolk 360 1,121 238 
			 Surrey 272 683 213 
			 Sussex 464 1,569 335 
			 Thames Valley 448 1,674 360 
			 Warwickshire 160 627 127 
			 West Mercia 348 1,308 281 
			 West Midlands 119 466 163 
			 West Yorkshire 277 718 224 
			 Wiltshire 257 832 237 
			 Dyfed-Powys 391 901 155 
			 Gwent 91 315 124 
			 North Wales 200 675 152 
			 South Wales 174 491 122 
			     
			 England and Wales 11,502 35,723 8,951 
			 ‘—’ denotes nil Source: Home Office 
		
	
	
		
			 Table 2: Shotgun certificates: new applications and renewal applications granted, by police force area, 2009-10 to 2011-12 
			  2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 
			  New applications granted Renewal applications granted New applications granted Renewal applications granted New applications granted Renewal applications granted 
			        
			 Avon and Somerset 816 1,666 911 5,044 899 5,039 
			 Bedfordshire 241 605 330 1,643 340 1,759 
			 Cambridgeshire 502 1,147 707 3,117 701 3,215 
			 Cheshire 811 929 474 2,260 579 3,166 
			 Cleveland 133 251 138 525 160 557 
			 Cumbria 331 743 304 1,597 255 1,486 
			 Derbyshire 470 760 676 2,403 683 2,631 
			 Devon and Cornwall 843 2,368 1,337 7,583 1,396 7,197 
			 Dorset 439 915 549 2,186 738 2,329 
			 Durham 292 519 325 1,418 358 1,352 
			 Essex 1,158 1,941 1,039 4,933 1,110 5,169 
			 Gloucestershire 361 729 553 2,549 539 2,892 
			 Greater Manchester 407 765 510 2,036 468 2,087 
			 Hampshire 833 1,728 983 4,759 1,104 5,384 
			 Hertfordshire 453 860 648 2,254 708 2,626 
			 Humberside 408 687 392 1,813 493 2,550 
			 Kent 921 1,803 1,222 5,332 1,224 4,592 
			 Lancashire 684 1,007 749 2,638 794 2,988 
			 Leicestershire 486 882 648 2,497 734 2,749 
			 Lincolnshire 603 1,323 564 3,486 680 3,519 
			 London, City of 2 2 3 9 1 10 
			 Merseyside 134 318 161 828 172 934 
			 Metropolitan Police 1,629 2,041 2,224 5,467 2,529 5,623 
			 Norfolk 1,152 1,971 1,353 5,002 1,347 5,886 
			 Northamptonshire 359 766 332 2,171 453 2,304 
			 Northumbria 372 496 550 1,946 533 1,863 
			 North Yorkshire 694 1,579 827 4,103 845 3,997 
		
	
	
		
			 Nottinghamshire 364 666 465 2,045 358 1,850 
			 South Yorkshire 506 676 509 1,826 573 1,891 
			 Staffordshire 488 946 571 3,038 513 2,723 
			 Suffolk 675 2,186 752 4,112 847 3,933 
			 Surrey 561 1,077 864 2,996 916 3,232 
			 Sussex 722 1,388 930 3,896 978 4,627 
			 Thames Valley 1,109 2,627 1,479 7,167 1,598 6,795 
			 Warwickshire 325 759 467 2,195 425 2,296 
			 West Mercia 997 2,292 1,088 5,747 1,186 7,792 
			 West Midlands 371 794 386 2,324 420 2,285 
			 West Yorkshire 571 933 594 1,830 698 2,461 
			 Wiltshire 529 1,034 757 3,016 818 2,946 
			 Dyfed-Powys 433 1,071 713 4,206 1,019 3,757 
			 Gwent 174 464 176 1,307 206 1,708 
			 North Wales 364 932 476 3,487 488 3,209 
			 South Wales 227 491 332 1,946 368 1,869 
			        
			 England and Wales 23,950 47,137 29,068 130,737 31,254 137,278 
		
	
	Figures for 2012-13 will be published later this year.

Firearms: Licensing

David Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans she has to review gun licence fees.

Damian Green: Firearm licensing fees are under review by the Home Office. We are currently in discussion with the national policing lead on firearms, stakeholders and HM Treasury.

Illegal Immigrants: Employment

Rehman Chishti: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many businesses in (a) Gillingham and Rainham constituency and (b) Medway have been fined for employing illegal foreign national workers in each year since 2008.

Mark Harper: The information requested is in the following table. The figures are based on the number of civil penalties served at visited business addresses. Information is not available broken down into the Medway area or by constituency, data is available by regional split and therefore figures for London and south-east region have been provided as well as for the postal areas of ME4, 5, 7 and 8.
	Since the start of the civil penalty regime on 29 February 2008 up to 31 May 2013 the Civil Penalty Compliance Team has issued 80 penalties after initial consideration, on businesses visited in the postal areas of ME4, 5, 7 and 8, totalling £695,000.
	
		
			  Number of initial decision penalties issued in ME4,5,7 and 8 Number of initial decision penalties issued in London and south-east region 
			 2008 12 419 
			 2009 25 954 
			 2010 25 657 
			 2011 6 435 
			 2012 6 372 
			 2013 up to 31 May 2013 6 222 
			 Total 80 3,059 
		
	
	Please note penalties issued at the initial decision stage may be reduced, cancelled, increased or reissued.

Members: Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  when she plans to reply to the letter to her dated 7 May 2013 from the hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Mr P. Chakawata;
	(2)  when she plans to reply to the letter to her dated 7 May 2013 from the hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Ms F.M. Ismail.

Mark Harper: I wrote to the right hon. Member on 13 June 2013.

Social Security Benefits: Mothers

Jenny Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps her Department takes to ensure that commercial organisations distributing information about available benefits to new and expecting mothers do not use data gathered about mothers and their children for other purposes.

Helen Grant: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Ministry of Justice.
	The Data Protection Act establishes a framework of rights and duties which are designed to safeguard personal data. This framework balances the legitimate needs of organisations to collect and use personal data for business and other purposes against the rights of individuals to respect for privacy of their personal details.
	The second data protection principle in schedule I of the DPA states that personal data shall be obtained only for one or more specified purposes, and shall not be further processed in a manner incompatible with that purpose or those purposes. Personal data should not be used for broader purposes without the consent of the individual concerned.
	Compliance with the DPA is regulated by the Information Commissioners Office (ICO). The ICO has issued comprehensive guidance on the application of the Act which can be viewed at:
	http://www.ico.org.uk/

UK Border Agency

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people were employed by the UK Border Agency in each year of its establishment.

Mark Harper: The following figures are as published in the yearly Annual Report and Accounts:
	
		
			  Average FTE 
			 2009-10 15,880 
			 2010-11 15,233 
			 2011-12 (1)14,112 
			 (1) The published figures in the 2011-12 Annual Report and Accounts included an estimated 350 full-time equivalent persons working on behalf of the agency but directly employed by Border Force. 
		
	
	The following figures have not been published in this years Annual report as yet and are subject to finalisation.
	
		
			  Average FTE 
			 2012-13 13,353 
		
	
	All figures are the average FTE (full-time equivalent) of staff employed that year and include UK Border Agency staff, excluding Border Force.
	Full-time equivalent means that part timers are counted by the proportion of full-time hours they work, so that a part timer working half the time of an equivalent full timer would count as 0.5 FTE.

BUSINESS, INNOVATION AND SKILLS

Business: Loans

Mark Lazarowicz: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what targets he has set for increased funding for small and medium-sized enterprises through the establishment of a Business Bank.

Michael Fallon: In March this year, the Government published a document "Building the Business Bank", setting out progress on establishing a British Business Bank. In this, the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, the right hon. Member for Twickenham (Vince Cable), made clear, that the Business Bank's success will be measured against its ability to:
	Raise the overall amount of finance provided to viable but underserved small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and mid-sized businesses;
	Increase the diversity of suppliers and products in the SME and mid-sized finance market;
	Improve effectiveness, raise awareness and increase use of Government's business finance support and advice services;
	Achieve the above while generating an appropriate return on the bank's capital dedicated to commercial or near-commercial schemes and maximising the impact of those schemes which involve the provision of subsidy.
	These targets will be refined and quantified in the course of this year.

Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013

Graham Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills when he intends to publish delegated legislation to implement Section 69 of the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013.

Mark Hoban: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Department for Work and Pensions.
	The Commencement Order to bring section 69 of the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013 into effect will be laid during the summer parliamentary recess.
	A short consultation on draft regulations creating an exception to section 69 in respect of pregnant workers and new/breastfeeding mothers ends on 20 June. The Health and Safety Executive will then consider any responses to the consultation and take into account any issues arising, with a view to the regulations being laid together with a Consequential Amendments Order tidying up existing legislation in the light of the enactment of section 69. It is proposed that the regulations and order will come into effect on 1 October 2013, the date on which it is anticipated section 69 will also come into effect.

Grants

William McCrea: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether a company's (a) history of tax avoidance and (b) compliance with the national minimum wage is taken into account when awarding grants from his Department.

Jo Swinson: The majority of BIS funding is allocated by our partner organisations to universities, research institutes, colleges and other training providers as well as students, according to the quality and volume of the services they provide or their means and circumstances.
	BIS also awards some grants itself, including the Regional Growth Fund grants, Grants for Business Investment, and grants to the three National Academies. When BIS awards grants, the Department will carry out checks on each applicant or organisation's suitability. The extent of these checks will depend on the materiality of the grant, but if the applicant were publicly known to be engaged in criminal activity, such as evading the National Minimum Wage requirements, then we would normally expect this to disqualify the applicant from receiving BIS grants. BIS has no access to ongoing investigations into National Minimum Wage non compliance, however, as these are confidential.
	The Department has a strict policy of discouraging tax avoidance in its own payments to staff, and the tax arrangements of employees of BIS and its partners are reviewed regularly. The Department cannot enforce such controls over independent bodies that we fund. BIS grants are not normally a taxable supply, so the tax history of a body is not a key issue in determining eligibility. It is also not usually a reasonable grant requirement to require a recipient to divulge its full payroll or tax records. For these reasons, it is unlikely that legal tax avoidance would have an impact on an organisation's eligibility for BIS grants.

Grants

William McCrea: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what new development grants his Department makes available to small and medium-sized enterprises.

Michael Fallon: The full range of publicly backed sources of finance, from Government grants through to investment types of finance available, can be found at:
	www.gov.uk/business-finance-support-finder
	The BIS guide ‘SME access to finance schemes: measures to support small and medium-sized enterprise growth’ details the main forms of public support available to businesses and can be found at:
	www.gov.uk/bis/financeguide
	A number of individual grant schemes are also available via the Regional Growth Fund. This supports projects and programmes that are using private sector investment to create economic growth and sustainable employment. Further information can be found at:
	www.gov.uk/regional-growth-fund-a-guide-for-small-and-medium-enterprises-smes
	The Government supports research and development in small and medium-sized businesses through a range of measures, including the programmes delivered by the Technology Strategy Board and R&D tax credits.
	The Technology Strategy Board is the Government's prime channel for supporting business-led technology innovation. It delivers a range of grant-based programmes in support of businesses, including SMEs, undertaking research and development including Collaborative R&D, SMART and Knowledge Transfer Partnerships. The Technology Strategy Board also provides opportunities for innovative businesses of all sizes through the growing network of Catapult centres. Further details can be found at:
	www.innovateuk.org
	R&D tax credits are the single largest Government support for business investment in R&D. In the year ending March 2011 claims totalled £1.1 billion on expenditure of £10.9 billion. The rate of tax relief available through the SME R&D tax credit was raised to 225% from April 2012, making it among the most competitive regimes in the world, which is likely to further incentivise companies to invest in R&D.
	In addition, we have taken a number of further actions which will increase support for business R&D including: the introduction of an Innovation Vouchers programme, increased investment in the Small Business Research Initiative, and the new UK Research Partnership Investment Fund, which will secure over £1 billion support for the development of new research facilities and partnerships between universities, businesses and charities.

Higher Education: Females

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what proportion of those who accepted a university place to study (a) engineering, (b) technology, (c) mathematics and computer science, (d) architecture and (e) physical sciences in 2011-12 were female.

David Willetts: The proportion of UCAS accepted applicants to UK HEIs that are female by subject of study in the academic year 2011/12 is provided in the table. The answer is based on UCAS data and as such will be limited to those accepted through UCAS to its member institutions. Accepted applicants of all ages from all domiciles are included.
	
		
			 JACS subject group Percentage of accepted applicants that are female 
			 Group A Medicine and Dentistry 54.7 
			 Group B Subjects allied to Medicine 79.1 
			 Group C Biological Sciences 58.3 
			 Group D Veterinary Science, Agriculture and related 66.0 
			 Group F Physical Sciences 39.7 
			 Group G Mathematical and Computer Science 22.3 
			 Group H Engineering 12.5 
			 Group J Technologies 18.4 
			 Group K Architecture, Building and Planning 31.5 
			 Group L Social Studies 60.5 
			 Group M Law 62.5 
			 Group N Business and Admin studies 49.0 
			 Group P Mass Communications and Documentation 54.2 
			 Group Q Linguistics, Classics and related 72.5 
			 Group R European Languages, Literature and related 72.0 
			 Group T Non-European Languages, Literature and related 62.4 
			 Group V History and Philosophical studies 51.4 
			 Group W Creative Arts and Design 63.0 
			 Group X Education 85.1 
			 Combined arts 67.5 
			 Combined sciences 47.2 
			 Combined social sciences 55.2 
			 Sciences combined with social sciences or arts 46.3 
			 Social sciences combined with arts 65.8 
			 General, other combined and unknown 53.5 
			 Total 54.9 
			 Note: Subjects are allocated to subject groups using the Joint Academic Classification of Subjects (JACS). Source: UCAS

Local Enterprise Partnerships: Rural Areas

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent assessment he has made of the role of local enterprise partnerships in rural areas; and if he will make a statement.

Michael Fallon: The Government does not carry out formal assessments of the effectiveness of local enterprise partnerships (LEPs) in either urban or rural areas. As partnerships of business and civic leaders, local enterprise partnerships are first and foremost accountable to their local community and local businesses.

Manufacturing Industries

Lindsay Roy: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps he is taking to support manufacturing industry in the UK.

Michael Fallon: We are supporting UK manufacturing industries by encouraging innovation and technology commercialisation, exports and business investment; and by improving skills, building UK supply chains and promoting manufacturing's image.
	In collaboration with industry, we are developing sector strategies to give business the confidence to invest and grow.
	£1.5 billion has been committed to support sector strategies including £1 billion for the Aerospace Technology Institute with matched funding from industry; £1 billion to the Business Bank; £600 million to develop the "eight great technologies"; a further £350 million to the Regional Growth Fund; £250 million to support the most energy intensive industries and an additional £120 million in the Advanced Manufacturing Supply Chain Initiative.

Public Sector: Procurement

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will take steps to ensure that companies involved in blacklisting of workers are banned from tendering for public sector contracts.

Jo Swinson: Blacklisting is an appalling practice and that is why we brought in the Blacklists Regulations in 2010 to make certain that it is illegal. Any business, whether it works on public contracts or not, should comply with the law of the land. We expect them not to break data protection law, trade union law or the Blacklists Regulations when planning or undertaking work for the public sector or anywhere else.
	Since the Opposition debate on blacklisting on 23 January 2013, Official Report, column 330, no evidence has been presented to Government to show that blacklisting of trade unionists is ongoing. There have been a lot of accusations, but we have not yet received any evidence that blacklisting continues. We continue to urge anyone who has such information to get in touch with the appropriate authorities.
	Similarly I am not aware of any evidence that the Blacklists Regulations are not doing their job.
	In line with well-established policy, when they came into force in 2010, the Blacklists Regulations were not retrospective and were not intended to be. Where it has been proven that construction companies have previously used the Consulting Association blacklist, they need to ensure that employees and investors can have confidence in their current practices.
	More generally, public sector procurers are required to comply with EU treaty principles of openness, transparency and non-discrimination when awarding public contracts. In addition, contracts over certain thresholds (around £4.3 million for works contracts) are subject to detailed rules set out in EU directives and implemented by the Public Contracts Regulations 2006, which set out in detail how the contract must be conducted.
	Under EU procurement rules, public procurers must also exclude suppliers from bidding for public contracts when they have been convicted of certain offences including conspiracy, corruption, bribery and fraud.
	Where a supplier or other interested party finds an instance of what they believe to be poor procurement practice, they can raise it with the Cabinet Office's Mystery Shopper Service.
	Full details of the scheme can be found at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/mystery-shopper-scope-and-remit
	The Scottish Affairs Select Committee is continuing its own investigation into blacklisting and Government will be looking carefully at their final report as well as any other evidence submitted. Where there is evidence that blacklisting is currently being used in any sector of the economy, the appropriate authorities will be asked to carry out a full and thorough investigation.
	We are also aware that there are some ongoing cases currently before the courts, and will be interested to see the outcome of these.

Shipping: Pay

Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills when his Department last conducted a study of rates of pay for seafarer ratings working in the UK maritime sector; what its findings were; and if he will take steps to regularly undertake and publish the results of such a study.

Jo Swinson: There is not a specific survey of seafarers rates of pay carried out by Government.
	However, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) carries out the annual survey of hours and earnings (ASHE)—a comprehensive survey on earnings of employees across the economy. The latest figures from ASHE show that the median gross weekly pay for full-time marine and waterways transport operatives was £583.5 in April 2012.
	There is no information available on seafarer ratings.
	Because ASHE is based on HMRC records from UK PAYE/tax records it may not provide a full picture on seafarer's earnings.
	The Government has no plans to undertake a specific study of the rates of pay of seafare ratings.

Young People: Employment

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what estimate his Department has made of the number of young people who have moved away from rural areas to urban areas in search of long-term employment in (a) England and (b) Cumbria in each year since 2008.

Jo Swinson: We have made no such estimate.

ATTORNEY-GENERAL

Conditions of Employment

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Attorney-General how many staff were retained on zero-hour contracts by (a) the Law Officers' Departments and (b) the executive agencies and non-departmental public bodies for which he is responsible in (i) 2010-11, (ii) 2011-12 and (iii) 2012-13; and if he will make a statement.

Oliver Heald: None.

Crown Prosecution Service

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Attorney-General what proportion of Crown Prosecution Service cases charged at police stations were rejected or downgraded prior to the listing hearing in (a) 2012 and (b) 2013.

Oliver Heald: The police can charge some minor offences without referral to a prosecutor from the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) for a charging decision. The following table shows the number of prosecutions that were charged by the police during the period in question:
	
		
			  Police charged cases 
			 2012 595,077 
			 2013 (January to May) 223,870 
		
	
	Upon receipt of a police charged case, prosecutors will assess the evidential material provided in accordance with the guidance set out in the Code for Crown Prosecutors. CPS prosecutors are proactive in identifying and rectifying evidential deficiencies or bringing to an early conclusion those cases that are deficient but cannot be strengthened by further investigation or where the public interest clearly does not require a prosecution.
	The following table sets out the number of police charged cases that were subsequently discontinued by the CPS.
	
		
			  2012 2013 (January to May) 
			 Police charged cases discontinued by the CPS (Number) 47,049 18,631 
			 Proportion of Police charged cases discontinued (Percentage). 7.9 8.3 
		
	
	The responsibility for continuing with proceedings lies with the CPS. If after reviewing a case fully in accordance with the Code for Crown Prosecutors the CPS prosecutor believes that the proceedings should not continue, the case will be terminated at the earliest possible opportunity.
	No central record is kept of the number of cases discontinued prior to a hearing being listed; however, in 2012, 30,478 of the 47,049 cases that needed to be discontinued were done so at either the first or second hearing. For January to May 2013, the figure is 12,058. This represents almost two thirds of the terminated cases charged by the police.
	No central record is maintained of cases that are ‘downgraded’. However, the CPS have the option to deal with a police charged case by way of an out-of-court disposal in place of a prosecution in court if it is an appropriate response to the offender and/or the seriousness and consequence of the offending. In 2012, 2,940 cases were discontinued in favour of an out of court disposal and 704 cases from January to May 2013.

TREASURY

Business: Loans

William McCrea: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent discussions he has had with banks and other financial institutions about making additional finance available to small and medium-sized enterprises.

Greg Clark: Ensuring that small and medium sized enterprises can access the finance they need in order to, grow is vital to continued economic recovery across the UK.
	Treasury Ministers and officials meet regularly with banks to discuss access to finance for small and medium sized enterprises. However, as was the case with previous Administrations, it is not the Treasury's practice to provide details of all such representations.

Illegal Immigrants: Employment

Lady Hermon: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many businesses in Northern Ireland have received fines or other penalties for employing illegal labour in each of the last three years for which figures are available.

Mark Harper: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Home Department.
	The information requested is in the following table. The figures are based on the number of civil penalties served following visits to business addresses in Northern Ireland.
	The Civil Penalty Compliance Team has issued 41 civil penalties from 1 June 2010 to 31 May 2013, totalling £335,000.
	
		
			 As at 1 June to 31 May each year: Number of initial decision penalties issued in Northern Ireland 
			 2010-11 9 
			 2011-12 11 
			 2012-13 21 
			 Total 41 
		
	
	Please note penalties issued at the initial decision stage may be reduced, cancelled, increased or reissued.

Revenue and Customs: St Helens

Shaun Woodward: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what estimate he has made of how many jobs will be lost if the proposed closure of HM Revenue and Customs' enquiry centre in St Helens goes ahead;
	(2)  what information his Department holds on the number of visitors to HM Revenue and Customs' enquiry centre in St Helens in each of the last five years.

David Gauke: On 14 March 2013, HM Revenue and Customs announced a public consultation on a proposed new service for supporting customers who need extra help with getting their taxes and entitlements right. Earlier this month the department started a five month pilot of the new service in the north east of England.
	If HMRC does decide to introduce the new service across the entire inquiry centre network then it would replace the current arrangements between February and May 2014.
	Because HMRC has yet to make a decision on this issue, it cannot comment on the situation of the five staff working in the inquiry centre in St Helens. The number of visitors to the HMRC inquiry centre in St Helens for each of the last five financial years is:
	
		
			  Number 
			 2008-09 15,900 
			 2009-10 13,315 
			 2010-11 17,070 
			 2011-12 14,545 
			 2012-13 13,296

Royal Bank of Scotland

Christopher Leslie: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer on what date he or his officials first discussed with Sir Philip Hampton the desire for a target sale date for some or all of the Government's shareholding in the Royal Bank of Scotland by the end of 2014.

Sajid Javid: UK Financial Investments Ltd (UKFI) continues to be responsible for managing the Government's shareholdings in RBS and Lloyds on a commercial and arm's length basis, and for developing and executing a strategy for disposing of the investment in an orderly and active way.
	The Government has consistently said there is no target price for the sale of the Government's shareholding in RBS and no timetable—including the general election.

Royal Bank of Scotland

Christopher Leslie: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  whether the decision to change the Chief Executive of the Royal Bank of Scotland was independently determined without consultation with him or his officials;
	(2)  on what date did he or officials or ministers of his Department first discussed the possibility of changing the Chief Executive of the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) with (a) UK Financial Investment Ltd, (b) Sir Philip Hampton and (c) other members of the Board of RBS.

Sajid Javid: Mr Hester's departure was a matter for Mr Hester and the board of Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS). The Chancellor of the Exchequer was consulted on this decision, as was UK Financial Investments (UKFI) Ltd.

Tax Evasion: Fuels

William McCrea: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the loss of revenue as a result of fuel laundering activities in the Republic of Ireland.

Sajid Javid: No assessment has been made of the loss of revenue as a result of fuel laundering activities in the Republic or Ireland. However, tax gap figures published in the document at the following link give estimates of revenue lost to illicit fuel on the GB mainland, and the non-UK duty paid market share in Northern Ireland, which includes both legitimate cross border shopping and illicit fuel.
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/statistics/tax-gaps/mtg-2012.pdf

Welfare Tax Credits

Liam Byrne: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much is spent annually on (a) working tax credits and (b) child tax credits in each region of the UK.

Sajid Javid: The following table gives entitlement figures for working and child tax credits from finalised 2011-12 awards data. Note that the figures do not add up exactly due to being rounded to the nearest pound.
	
		
			 £ million 
			  Entitlement to CTC Entitlement to WTC Total entitlement 
			 UK 21,469 7,734 29,203 
			 North East 950 366 1,316 
			 North West 2,664 1,049 3,713 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 1,992 753 2,745 
			 East Midlands 1,554 569 2,123 
			 West Midlands 2,185 752 2,938 
			 East 1,745 575 2,320 
			 London 3,016 1,001 4,017 
			 South East 2,302 772 3,074 
			 South West 1,585 586 2,171 
			 Wales 1,107 403 1,510 
			 Scotland 1,547 628 2,175 
			 Northern Ireland 757 267 1,023 
			 Foreign and not known 60 11 71 
		
	
	I also refer the hon. Member to the written answer I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Witham (Priti Patel), on 25 April 2013, Official Report, column 1155W, PQ 153455. This contained an estimate of total tax credits expenditure, split by working and child tax credit, for the years 2008-09 to 2012-13.

Welfare Tax Credits

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps he is taking to ensure that HM Revenue and Customs improves its performance in reducing tax credits error and fraud.

Sajid Javid: Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC) is building on its strategic approach to tackle tax credit error and fraud by improving the way it identifies claimants who have failed to notify changes. It includes using real time information on earnings to tackle income risks and, as part of the autumn statement, to introduce checks on child care claims and confirmation that a child is still in qualifying training or education. Work is also under way to explore whether the private sector can help HMRC to increase the number of checks it makes on tax credit claims. From April 2013, HMRC also introduced sanctions which stop payments of working tax credits where claimants have been fraudulent.
	The latest estimates for 2011-12, published on 7 June 2013, show that HMRC has reduced the overall levels of tax credits error and fraud to 7.3%, from 8.1% in 2010-11—the lowest since tax credits were introduced in 2003.

WALES

Devolution

Owen Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales when he expects to publish the draft Wales Bill announced in the Queen's Speech.

David Jones: The Wales Office intends to publish the draft Wales Bill for pre-legislative scrutiny later this year.

Devolution

Owen Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many officials in his Department have been tasked with analysing the implications of the recommendations of the first report of the Commission on Devolution in Wales.

David Jones: The Wales Office is working with a number of other Government Departments, particularly HM Treasury, in analysing the recommendations made by the Commission on Devolution in Wales. Eight Wales Office officials have been involved in this work (to varying degrees) since the Commission published its report.

Government Bills

Owen Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales whether his Department has published a summary of measures in the Queen's Speech that will have an effect on Wales.

David Jones: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the written ministerial statement I made to the House on 9 May 2013, Official Report, column 12WS.

Official Cars

Owen Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many journeys he and his Ministers have undertaken in his Department's ministerial car in each of the last six months.

David Jones: This information is not held centrally.

Politics and Government

Owen Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what meetings (a) he, (b) Ministers and (c) officials in his Department have had with Cabinet Ministers in the Welsh Government in the last six months.

David Jones: Wales Office Ministers have regular meetings with their counterparts in the Welsh Government. Officials frequently accompany Ministers to these meetings.

Public Expenditure

Owen Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what representations he has made to the Chancellor of the Exchequer about the Welsh block grant ahead of the Spending Review.

David Jones: I have frequent discussions with the Chancellor of the Exchequer and other Cabinet colleagues on matters that influence the size of the Welsh block grant.

Public Expenditure

Owen Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what changes have been made to the the Welsh block grant in each year of the current Parliament in both real and absolute terms.

David Jones: The following table shows the changes to the Welsh Government's block grant. The Welsh Government's block grant has increased or is planned to increase each year from 2011-12.
	
		
			  2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15 Overall change 
			 Total departmental expenditure limit, net of depreciation and impairments (£ million) 15,366 14,861 14,867 15,009 15,121 -244 
			 Percentage change—nominal — -3.3 0.0 1.0 0.7 -1.6 
			 Percentage change—real — -5.2 -1.2 -1.3 -1.1 -8.7

Social Networking

Owen Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list all Twitter accounts for which his officials (a) have had or (b) currently have responsibility for (i) monitoring and (ii) updating.

David Jones: Two—@walesoffice and @swyddfa cymru.

EDUCATION

Academies

Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Education when his Department expects to announce the calculation of the return funds to local authorities following the 2012-13 top slicing for academies; and when local authorities will receive that payment.

David Laws: The refunds to local authorities for the Local Authority Central Spend Equivalent Grant (LACSEG) in respect of 2012-13 financial year were paid by 31 May 2013.

Children: Diabetes

Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what support his Department provides to schools in caring for pupils with type-1 diabetes.

Edward Timpson: The Department for Education provides guidance on managing medicines in schools, which addresses a range of conditions, including diabetes. The guidance is designed to prevent medical conditions from hampering children's educational attainment or preventing them from participating fully in school life. We expect schools to: understand children's needs; work closely with parents and carers; and have clear procedures set out in their health care plan, with which staff are familiar and comfortable.

Children: Diabetes

Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what recent representations he has received on requiring schools to provide support for pupils with type-1 diabetes; and if he will make a statement.

Edward Timpson: Ministers have met with colleagues from the Department of Health and, following representations made to both Departments, are aware of the concerns that have been raised by charities such as Diabetes UK about the level of support provided to pupils with type-1 diabetes. Diabetes provision was also debated at the report stage of the Children and Families Bill.
	We continue to work alongside the Department of Health and have committed to publishing revised managing medicines guidance for schools later this year. This will update advice provided to schools to help them ensure that pupils with complex health conditions such as diabetes are able to participate in school life and fulfil their potential in education.

Free School Meals

Gavin Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education when changes to the criteria to receive free school lunches were last made.

David Laws: An Order(1) came into force on 29 April 2013 extending eligibility for free school meals to children who are in receipt, or whose parents are in receipt, of universal credit, for the duration of the universal credit pathfinder. Pathfinder claims are only open to single adults with no dependent children, but this change ensures that any children who subsequently join the household of claimants will be eligible for free school meals. This interim measure does not pre-judge which children will be entitled to free school meals when universal credit is rolled out more widely.
	(1) http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2013/650/introduction/made

Free School Meals: Secondary Education

Gavin Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many students in secondary schools receive free lunches.

David Laws: Information on free school meal eligibility is published in table 3b of the Statistical First Release ‘Schools, Pupils and their Characteristics, January 2012’.(1)
	Schools and local councils can also provide free lunches to children not eligible for free school meals if they wish, or to subsidise school meal prices for certain groups of children. These are approaches already taken in some schools and local councils. The Department does not collect information on this additional provision.
	Information for January 2013 will be published on 20 June 2013 at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-education/series/statistics-school-and-pupil-numbers
	(1 )https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/167510/sfr10-2012nt.xls.xls

Free Schools: Devon

Geoffrey Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Education 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of the need for the Route 39 Free School in Torridge;
	(2)  for what reasons he approved the Route 39 Free School in Torridge; and what assessment he made of the level of support for such a school prior to granting an approval.

Edward Timpson: The Route 39 Academy will provide parents with more choices for their child's education and will help drive up standards through both the provision of high quality education and the competition it will bring. In addition, all five of the nearest secondary schools performed below the national average in 2012.
	Each application to open a free school is scrutinised rigorously and the Secretary of State for Education, my right hon. Friend the Member for Surrey Heath (Michael Gove), approves only those proposals that meet strict criteria. The application to set up the Route 39 Academy, which was supported by over 500 families, met these criteria and demonstrated that there was sufficient demand for a relatively small secondary school to serve families living in the local rural community.

Free Schools: Devon

Geoffrey Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Education 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of the cost of the Route 39 Free School;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the (a) capital costs and (b) costs of adapting interim accommodation of the Route 39 Free School in Torridge.

Edward Timpson: We are satisfied that the Route 39 Academy will offer good value for money. Details of the capital funding—including site acquisition, renovation and construction costs—for free schools are made public when contracts are finalised and the cost is no longer commercially sensitive. The costs for the Route 39 Academy will be published on the Department's website in due course.

Free Schools: Devon

Geoffrey Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what assessment he has made of the effect of the Route 39 Free School on existing schools in the area.

Edward Timpson: Evidence shows that where choice exists, competitive pressures brought about by the creation of high-quality new schools can improve the quality of other schools in the local area.

GCSE

Damian Hinds: To ask the Secretary of State for Education pursuant to his answer of 10 June 2013, Official Report, column 124W, on education, what the GCSE performance was of (a) students in London eligible for free school meals, (b) students outside London eligible for free school meals, (c) students in London not eligible for free school meals and (d) students outside London not eligible for free school meals in each of the five years up to and including the start of the London Challenge.

David Laws: The data requested on free school meal eligibility in the five years up to and including the start of London Challenge are not available.
	London Challenge started in 2003. Figures for the years 2001/02 and 2002/03 could only be provided at a disproportionate cost. Figures for the years prior to 2001/02 are not available because pupil-level data has only been collected in the School Census since the 2001/02 academic year.

Sixth Form Colleges: VAT

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will make representations to HM Treasury in support of proposals to introduce a VAT refund scheme for sixth form colleges that mirrors the scheme currently in place for school sixth forms, academies and free schools; and if he will make a statement.

David Laws: The Government aims to ensure that all educational institutions receive fair support in relation to funding and keeps these issues under close review.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Community Relations Council

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what discussions she has had with the Community Relations Council since September 2012.

Theresa Villiers: I visited the Community Relations Council on 18 April 2013. During this visit I met the Chief Executive and Chairman of the Council and received a briefing on their work and heard their views on the challenges of building cohesion in Northern Ireland. I also had the opportunity to meet representatives from some of the projects which are funded by the Council.

Disciplinary Proceedings

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many staff were suspended from her Department and its associated public bodies on full pay in (a) 2010-11, (b) 2011-12 and (c) 2012-13; and what costs were incurred as a result of such suspensions.

Michael Penning: No staff were suspended from my Department on full pay during 2010-11, 2011-12 or 2012-13 and, therefore, no costs were incurred.
	My Department has two executive non-departmental public bodies—the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission and the Parades Commission for Northern Ireland; and one advisory non-departmental public body—the Boundary Commission for Northern Ireland. As such bodies are independent of Government, the hon. Member may wish to write to the Commissions directly on these matters—contact details are set out in the following table:
	
		
			 ALB Status Contact details 
			 Parades Commission for Northern Ireland Executive NDPB info@paradescommission.org 
			 Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission Executive NDPB information@nihrc.org 
			 Boundary Commission for Northern Ireland Advisory NDPB bcni@belfast.org.uk

Foreign Investment in UK

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what meetings she has planned with attendees to the G8 summit on encouraging inward investment to Northern Ireland; and if she will make a statement.

Theresa Villiers: When the Prime Minister announced that Lough Erne would be the venue for the G8 summit he described Northern Ireland as:
	“a great place for business, a great place for investment, a place with an incredibly educated and trained work force, ready to work for international businesses”.
	At the summit both he and I took the opportunity to reinforce that message with the visiting delegations.
	The economic package launched by the Government and the Northern Ireland Executive on 14 June announced that we will build on the summit by delivering a major G8 branded Investment Conference in Northern Ireland in October. The Prime Minister has undertaken to attend this conference to champion investment in Northern Ireland.

GCSE

William McCrea: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what recent representations she has made to the Northern Ireland Assembly to ensure that the GCSE examination is protected and viewed consistently across the UK.

Theresa Villiers: Education is devolved to the Northern Ireland Executive and the format of the GCSE exam in Northern Ireland a matter for the Northern Ireland Minister for Education.
	I have not discussed GCSEs with the Secretary of State for Education but have highlighted with him the general value of close working relationships with the Northern Ireland Executive on education matters.

JUSTICE

Bribery Act 2010

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many (a) successful and (b) unsuccessful prosecutions there have been under the Bribery Act 2010 since that act came into force.

Damian Green: There have been three successful and no unsuccessful prosecutions under the Bribery Act 2010 since the act came into force in July 2011.

Commercial Court

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many cases were dealt with by the commercial courts in England and Wales in (a) 2010, (b) 2011 and (c) 2012.

Helen Grant: Data are not collated on how many cases are dealt with by the commercial court. There are a number of ways a claim can be dealt with including settlement, default judgment, summary judgment, strikeout and trial. There were 1,060 claims issued in the commercial court in 2010 and 1,331 issued in 2011. Data for claims issued in 2012 are due to be published in Court Statistics Quarterly on 20 June 2013.

Courts: Shropshire

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what estimate he has made of the savings to his Department from the proposed centralisation of motoring courts in the area that includes Shropshire.

Helen Grant: The proposal to create single traffic courts in each police area is designed to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the courts by ensuring that summary motoring cases are dealt with proportionately and rapidly. The Department is working with the judiciary on taking forward this proposal. There has been no assessment of potential savings.

Homicide

Adam Afriyie: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of public confidence in the rule of law of the present test of materiality used in partial defences to murder;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the test of materiality used in partial defences to murder; and what steps he has taken to ensure that that test is sufficiently robust;
	(3)  what assessment he has made of whether the law relating to the defence of diminished responsibility to murder is sufficiently clear;
	(4)  if he will take steps to ensure that the defence of diminished responsibility to murder may only be used in cases where the associated medical condition has a clear and significant effect on the accused;
	(5)  what research his Department has conducted into the possibility of making diminished responsibility pleas the subject of the length of sentencing rather than conviction.

Damian Green: The partial defence of diminished responsibility was reformed in the Coroners and Justice Act 2009 to accommodate more modern ideas of psychiatry and abnormality of mental functioning which reduces the capacity to understand situations and control actions. The revised defence is based on the concept of a ‘recognised medical condition’. The Law Commission, who recommended the reforms, and the then Government conducted extensive public consultation to inform these changes to the law, which were then subject to the full scrutiny of Parliament. There are no plans to review the law in this area.

Human Trafficking

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the (a) nationality and (b) gender was of each suspected victim of trafficking referred to the Trafficking Victim Support Scheme operated by the Salvation Army in May 2013; in which (i) region, (ii) local authority area and (iii) parliamentary constituency each of the suspected victims was found; and which agency referred each case to the scheme.

Helen Grant: In May 2013 there were 60 referrals to the Government-funded support service for adult victims of human trafficking in England and Wales administered by the Salvation Army. In the interests of victim safety only the region in which the victim was encountered is provided, and not the local authority or parliamentary constituency. Details are provided as follows:
	
		
			 Nationality Gender Region Agency type 
			 Albanian Female West Midlands Home Office 
			 Albanian Female Wales Home Office 
			 Albanian Female South East Other 
			 Albanian Female South East Home Office 
			 Albanian Female South East Home Office 
			 Albanian Female Yorkshire Home Office 
			 Albanian Female West Midlands Health Services 
			 Albanian Female Yorkshire Home Office 
			 Albanian Female South East Self Referral 
			 Albanian Female West Midlands Home Office 
			 British Female South East Other 
			 British Male North West Police 
			 Cameroonian Female South East Self Referral 
			 Chinese Female South Police 
			 Chinese Female South West Health Services 
			 Chinese Female South East Local Authority 
			 Chinese Female South East Home Office 
			 Czech Female North West Police 
			 Czech Female North West Police 
			 Czech Female North West Police 
		
	
	
		
			 Congolese Male North West Home Office 
			 Gambian Female South East Other 
			 Ghanaian Female South East Self Referral 
			 Hungarian Female North West Police 
			 Hungarian Male East Midlands Police 
			 Indian Male Yorkshire Home Office 
			 Ivorian Female North West Home Office 
			 Kenyan Female West Midlands Home Office 
			 Latvian Female Wales NGO 
			 Latvian Male East Midlands Police 
			 Lithuanian Female South East Police 
			 Lithuanian Male North West NGO 
			 Lithuanian Male South East NGO 
			 Lithuanian Female South East Self Referral 
			 Nigerian Female West Midlands Home Office 
			 Nigerian Female South East Legal Representative 
			 Nigerian Female North West NGO 
			 Nigerian Female South East Legal Representative 
			 Nigerian Female South East Self Referral 
			 Nigerian Female South East Home Office 
			 Nigerian Female South East Home Office 
			 Nigerian Female South East Local Authority 
			 Nigerian Male South East NGO 
			 Nigerian Female South East Home Office 
			 Pakistani Male West Midlands Police 
			 Pakistani Male North East Home Office 
			 Polish Male West Midlands NGO 
			 Polish Male West Midlands Police 
			 Polish Female West Midlands NGO 
			 Romanian Female West Midlands Other 
			 Romanian Female West Midlands Police 
			 Sierra Leonese Female South East NGO 
			 Sierra Leonese Female South East Self Referral 
			 Tibetan Female East Midlands Police 
			 Ugandan Female South East Self Referral 
			 Ugandan Female South West NGO 
			 Vietnamese Male Yorkshire Home Office 
			 Vietnamese Male West Midlands Home Office 
			 Vietnamese Female South East Health Services 
			 Zambian Female Not known Home Office

Legal Aid Scheme

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what assessment his Department has made of the likely effects of reforms to legal aid on Welsh language services.

Jeremy Wright: Between 9 April and 4 June 2013 the Government consulted on a number of proposals to reform legal aid via the “Transforming Legal Aid: delivering a more credible and efficient system” consultation. This included a proposed model of competitive tendering for criminal legal aid services. We have been clear we must continue to bear down on the cost of legal aid, including the £1 billion of taxpayers' money spent on criminal legal aid a year, to ensure we are getting the best deal for the taxpayer.
	Where providers supply services in Wales, they will be contractually obligated to provide services in Welsh in accordance with the Welsh Language Act 1993, as currently. No change is proposed in this respect.

Prisoners' Incentives and Earned Privileges Scheme

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  what steps he is taking to ensure that recent changes to the Incentives and Earned Privileges measures are fully enacted in prisons;
	(2)  how the expectation for prisoners to work towards their own rehabilitation is measured by prison staff.

Jeremy Wright: On 30 April 2013, we announced significant changes to the Incentives and Earned Privileges (IEP) scheme which will come into effect on 1 November 2013. The focus of the IEP scheme will change so that not only are adult prisoners (18 or over) expected to behave well, but they will also be expected to actively work towards their own rehabilitation and, to reach the highest level of the scheme, demonstrate both an active commitment to their own rehabilitation and provide help or support to other prisoners and/or prison staff.
	Detail of how the scheme will operate is currently being developed and this will include guidance to prison staff on assessing prisoner's engagement with rehabilitation. A new Prison Service Instruction will be issued in due course which, as with all national policies, will require prisons to comply with the new requirements.

Prisons: Allotments

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many prisons have working allotments on site.

Jeremy Wright: Central data is not available to confirm how many prisons may have working allotments on site. This information could be obtained only by a manual check with individual prisons, which would incur disproportionate cost.
	However, there are 75 public sector prisons in England and Wales that have horticultural facilities including polytunnels, glasshouses, and gardens that produce vegetables for prison kitchens.

Prisons: Employment

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many working positions in (a) cooking, (b) serving meals, (c) prison maintenance and (d) cleaning there are in each prison in the UK.

Jeremy Wright: Data on the number of these working positions available at each prison is not currently collected centrally and could be obtained only by a manual check with individual prisons, which would incur disproportionate cost.
	Where work is available, all convicted prisoners are required to work in accordance with the Prison Rules. We know that substantial numbers of prisoners do work on these essential support tasks within prisons in England and Wales. Further data collection and analysis will be carried out ahead of the forthcoming competition for a range of prison works, maintenance and facilities management services which was announced earlier this month.

Prisons: Employment

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice with reference to rule 31 of the prison rules, what the procedure is for dealing with convicted prisoners who refuse to work at any point during their sentence.

Jeremy Wright: Prison rule 31 requires convicted prisoners to work as directed. The changes to the Incentives and Earned Privileges (IEP) scheme announced on 30 April 2013 will require prisoners to work towards their own rehabilitation by actively engaging in the prison regime. If they do not, they will not gain additional privileges. Where work is available, convicted prisoners will be required to take part.
	When a prisoner refuses to work the reason will be identified and appropriate action taken. Where no valid reason for a refusal was given, this would initially involve a warning of the consequences. Continued refusal would be a breach of prison rules and result in a disciplinary adjudication hearing. A range of punishments are provided under the prison rules, from withdrawal of a range of privileges up to cellular confinement.

Prisons: Procurement

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will publish a detailed breakdown of the cost of all services in each prison in the UK.

Jeremy Wright: The National Offender Management Services (NOMS) publishes prison unit costs in summary form for each prison as an Addendum alongside its Annual Report and Accounts. We do not intend or plan to publish a detailed analysis of each prison unit costs.
	The published information for each prison unit costs for financial year 2011-12 is available on the Department's website at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/prison-and-probation-trusts-performance-statistics-2011-12
	We plan to publish similar summary information for financial year 2012-13 on the MOJ website in October alongside the Management Information Addendum.
	Copies of all previous Annual Reports and Accounts are also placed in the House Library.

Prisons: Procurement

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what proportion of the budget of each prison in the UK is spent on procuring external services.

Jeremy Wright: The National Offender Management Service central accounting system does not separately record expenditure on procuring external services for each public sector and private prison in England and Wales. To interrogate such cost details from each prison would incur disproportionate costs.
	Budgets allocated to each establishment will be determined by various factors, including prison category, size, or age, and the type of regime. They do not separately identify individual elements of expenditure on procuring external services. These costs will be absorbed as part of local resource expenditure.

DEFENCE

Afghanistan

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the success of Afghan-led security operations in Helmand Province.

Andrew Robathan: The Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) is now in control of security throughout the country—all provinces, all cities, all borders—and for all of Afghanistan's 27 million citizens. The ANSF continues to make good progress and the UK military footprint is reducing in line with security transition.
	Task Force Helmand has directly supported only three of the last 150 Afghan uniformed police operations and all of the estimated 1,000 police patrols each week are conducted alone, without ISAF support. In total, ISAF troops have represented just 7% of the total deployed on recent Afghan National Army kandak and brigade level operations in Helmand. Our main role now, in line with security transition, is the vital one of training, assisting and advising the ANSF as they take the lead for security.
	While the ANSF assume this lead, violence levels within central Helmand appear lower than at the same point in the fighting season last year.

Armed Forces: Food

Gavin Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what the cost for food on Christmas day was for each member of the armed forces stationed in the UK;
	(2)  what the full meal Christmas Day (a) breakfast, (b) lunch and (c) dinner menu was for soldiers based in the UK in 2012.

Philip Dunne: This information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Armed Forces: Food

Gavin Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether vegan options are given at every meal for soldiers stationed in the UK.

Philip Dunne: Across armed forces sites in the UK, catering support is delivered by a number of Soft Facilities Management service providers. As part of this service they are contractually required to provide meal options which reflect cultural, religious and personal diversity, if requested.
	Vegan meals are not available as a standard item but if an individual identifies the need for vegan meals to be provided then this will be accommodated by the service provider.

Armed Forces: Health Services

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what targets are in place to ensure that his Department's personnel are treated within 10 weeks by NHS trusts.

Mark Francois: holding answer 21 May 2013
	NHS England has an 18 week target for treatment of non-military and military patients.

Armed Forces: Health Services

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many of his Department's personnel have not been treated within 10 weeks for (a) urgent and (b) non-urgent care by NHS trusts.

Andrew Robathan: holding answer 21 May 2013
	NHS England has an 18 week target for treatment of non-military and military personnel.
	Information held by the Defence Medical Services (DMS) indicates that during 2011-12, approximately 80% of armed forces personnel were treated within the 10 week timeframe.
	In line with the revised NHS Commissioning Strategy, NHS England will now provide the DMS with performance statistics on a six week basis.

Armed Forces: Health Services

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what measures are in place to ensure his Department's personnel are treated within 10 weeks by NHS trusts if commissioned by his Department.

Andrew Robathan: holding answer 21 May 2013
	NHS England has an 18 week target for non-military and military patients. The Defence Medical Services (DMS) monitored Ministry of Defence Hospital Units contracts commissioned with the NHS very closely. Each MOD Hospital Unit provided monthly statistics to the DMS on key activities, including waiting lists and the referral to treatment timeframe. This data was verified, validated and agreed between the Trust and the DMS. In addition, review meetings were undertaken by Trusts and the DMS, which increased to monthly Special Measures Contract Review meetings when required.
	In line with the revised NHS Commissioning Strategy, NHS England will now provide the DMS with performance statistics every six weeks. The DMS will attend regular partnership meetings with NHS England to discuss activity and associated performance related to secondary health care commissioning.

Armed Forces: Injuries

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps he is taking to improve the support given to injured service personnel.

Mark Francois: Our injured personnel make huge sacrifices in service of their country and it is only right that we do all we can to help them in their recovery.
	I am therefore delighted that the Defence Recovery Capability, supported by charities such as Help for Heroes and the Royal British Legion, has now achieved full operating capability, which I formally declared at an event at Wellington Barracks on 11 June 2013. All injured and wounded personnel who come under the Defence Recovery Capability will receive a personalised recovery plan covering all aspects of their recovery including medical care, welfare, housing, re-skilling, education, work placements, and employment issues and opportunities. I also laid a written ministerial statement in the House on 11 June 2013, Official Report , columns 3-4WS, which gives further details.

Army Families Federation

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent discussions he has had with representatives of the Army Families Federation with regards to the number of enquiries that body has received from foreign and Commonwealth soldiers since January 2013; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Francois: Army officials speak regularly with the Army Families Federation (AFF) across a range of issues, but have no central record of discussing the number of inquiries AFF have received from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office since January 2013.

AWE Aldermaston

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the write-off costs are as a result of cancelling Project Hydrus at the Atomic Weapons Establishment.

Philip Dunne: In the annual report and accounts 2010-11 the Ministry of Defence provided advance notice of the potential write-off of up to £120 million incurred on Project Hydrus prior to its termination.
	The hydrodynamics testing capability will now be delivered through the joint UK and France programme, Project Teutates.
	The exact amount to be written off will be finalised as Project Teutates matures.

Corps of Army Music

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the authorised establishment is of the Corps of Army Music; and how many posts were unfilled as at 31 March 2013.

Mark Francois: The authorised establishment of the Corps of Army Music is 799 and the number of unfilled posts at 31 March 2013 was 89.

Cybercrime

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many individuals have been employed within his Department to work on cyber security issues since May 2010.

Andrew Robathan: holding answer 17 June 2013
	We regard cyber security as the responsibility of all personnel within the Ministry of Defence, and we are incorporating it into the way we conduct operations and business. Since the Government has set out its cyber security strategy, we have also increased the numbers of specialists in the Department employed on cyber security. This information is being withheld for the purpose of safeguarding national security.

France

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of the cost of the Project Teutates Technology Development Centre at the Atomic Weapons Establishment Aldermaston; what the (a) total project costs and (b) projects costs incurred by the Government for Project Teutates has been in each year since 2010; and what he estimates such costs will be in each year to 2015.

Philip Dunne: The approved cost for the construction of the Technology Development Centre is £48.7 million. The breakdown for each year since 2010 is given in the following table:
	
		
			 Financial year Costs at outturn prices (£ million) 
			 2010-11 1.1 
			 2011-12 11.7 
			 2012-13 14.2 
			 2013-14 (1)15.1 
			 2014-15 (1)6.6 
			 2015-16 (1)0.0 
			 (1)Planned expenditure 
		
	
	I am withholding wider Project Teutates costs because disclosure would be likely to prejudice commercial interests and would impact on the formulation of Government policy.

G8: County Fermanagh

William McCrea: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many armed forces personnel have been made available to provide security for the G8 summit in Enniskillen, Northern Ireland.

Andrew Robathan: The Ministry of Defence is not providing any armed security for the G8, as this is the responsibility of the Police Service of Northern Ireland.

HMS Tireless

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  whether any radioactive emissions were vented to the atmosphere following the recent reactor coolant leak of HMS Tireless; where such releases were emitted; when they took place; and what quantities of radioactivity was released;
	(2)  where and when the reactor of HMS Tireless was shut down following its recent reactor coolant leak;
	(3)  with reference to the answer to the hon. Member for Moray of 1 March 2013, Official Report, column 718W, on HMS Tireless, what the expected duration and cost of repairs to HMS Tireless is; and whether a decision has yet been made as to whether the submarine will remain in service following the recent reactor coolant leak.

Philip Dunne: The reactor in HMS Tireless was shut down on her return to Her Majesty's Naval Base Devonport to allow investigations to be carried out and repair plans to be developed. Laboratory tests confirmed that the level of airborne radioactivity in the reactor compartment was well within the normal permitted limits for discharges to the environment. Following regulatory approval, normal alongside reactor compartment ventilation was resumed.
	Repairs to HMS Tireless have now been completed and she will return to operational service in due course. It is too early to confirm what the final cost of the repairs will be.

Intelligence Services

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many people engaged in defence intelligence speak (a) Chinese, (b) Japanese, (c) Vietnamese, (d) Taiwanese and (e) Korean.

Andrew Robathan: holding answer 17 June 2013
	Details of language skills declared by personnel in defence intelligence are set out in the following table:
	
		
			 Language Number of employees with a speaking ability 
			 Chinese-Mandarin 9 
			 Chinese-Other 7 
			 Japanese 5 or less 
			 Vietnamese (1)— 
			 Taiwanese (1)— 
			 Korean 0 
			 (1) Data not held

Languages

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many officials in his Department speak (a) Chinese, (b) Japanese, (c) Vietnamese, (d) Taiwanese and (e) Korean.

Andrew Robathan: holding answer 17 June 2013
	The following table sets out the numbers of civilian officials in the Ministry of Defence who have chosen to record a level of speaking ability in Chinese, Japanese or Korean.
	
		
			 Language Number of officials with a speaking ability 
			 Chinese-Mandarin 37 
			 Chinese-Other 63 
			 Japanese 48 
			 Korean 5 or less 
		
	
	Information on speaking ability in Vietnamese and Taiwanese is not held.

Military Bands

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  whether he has any plans to reduce the number of military bands; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  how many military bands there were in (a) 1997 and (b) 2010.

Mark Francois: There are currently no plans to reduce the number of Royal Marines and Royal Air Force military bands. The number of army bands is currently under review as part of the Future Music 2020 re-organisation programme, although no decision has yet been made.
	The number of military bands in the Regular forces in 1997 and 2010 is presented in the following table:
	
		
			  1997 2010 
			 Royal Marines 5 5 
			 Army 29 22 
			 Royal Air Force 4 3

Navy

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what research his Department is carrying out into underwater security in order to assist maritime operations.

Philip Dunne: The Defence Science and Technology (S&T) Programme funds a range of research activities relevant to underwater security, including anti-submarine warfare, sea mine countermeasures and military data gathering of geospatial information.

Property

Margaret Curran: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the (a) location and (b) value is of any property his Department owns in Scotland.

Andrew Robathan: A copy of a list showing the location of Ministry of Defence owned property in Scotland has been placed in the Library of the House.
	Details of any valuations obtained, can not be released as to do so could influence the market.

Territorial Army: Northern Ireland

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether members of the Territorial Army in Northern Ireland are eligible to be recruited to UK Special Forces.

Andrew Robathan: holding answer 17 June 2013
	Members of the Territorial Army in Northern Ireland are eligible for recruitment with UK Special Forces.

Unmanned Air Vehicles

Yasmin Qureshi: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether any of the five incidents of strikes by unmanned aerial vehicles which resulted in civilian casualties that were recorded by the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan in 2012 were carried out by the UK.

Andrew Robathan: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my hon. Friend the then Minister for the Armed Forces (Sir Nick Harvey) on 26 June 2012, Official Report, column 187W, to the hon. Member for Birmingham, Hall Green (Mr Godsiff), and to the answer I gave on 11 July 2011, Official Report, column 52W, to the hon. Member for Brighton, Pavilion (Caroline Lucas).

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Conditions of Employment

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many staff were retained on zero-hour contracts by (a) her Department and (b) the executive agencies and non-departmental public bodies for which she is responsible in (i) 2010-11, (ii) 2011-12 and (iii) 2012-13; and if she will make a statement.

Hugh Robertson: No staff were retained by DCMS on zero-hour contracts. We do not hold, centrally, data for our executive agency or NDPBs.

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

Commonwealth

Charles Walker: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister 
	(1)  how many Commonwealth citizens living in the UK, who are not UK passport holders, are eligible to vote in UK parliamentary elections;
	(2)  if he will list those Commonwealth countries whose citizens are allowed to vote in the UK's parliamentary elections if residing in the country.

Chloe Smith: Electoral Registration data by nationality is not collected centrally. The Office for National Statistics collect and publish yearly statistics on electoral registration, but this does not include data on nationality.
	Registration data on the basis of nationality is only collected at local level by local authority EROs for their own records, but they are under no obligation to do so. However, they only collect information about Commonwealth citizens who are registered to vote, not those who are eligible to do so.
	Commonwealth citizens who have or do not require leave to enter or remain in the UK can vote in UK parliamentary elections, subject to meeting all other eligibility criteria for electoral registration. The full list of Commonwealth countries whose citizens are allowed to vote is as follows:
	Antigua and Barbuda
	Australia
	The Bahamas
	Bangladesh
	Barbados
	Belize
	Botswana
	Brunei Darussalam
	Cameroon
	Canada
	Cyprus
	Dominica
	Fiji Islands
	The Gambia
	Ghana
	Grenada
	Guyana
	India
	Jamaica
	Kenya
	Kiribati
	Lesotho
	Malawi
	Malaysia
	Maldives
	Malta
	Mauritius
	Mozambique
	Namibia
	Nauru
	New Zealand
	Nigeria
	Pakistan
	Papua New Guinea
	Rwanda
	St Kitts and Nevis
	St Lucia
	St Vincent and the Grenadines
	Samoa
	Seychelles
	Sierra Leone
	Singapore
	Solomon Islands
	South Africa
	Sri Lanka
	Swaziland
	Tanzania
	Tonga
	Trinidad and Tobago
	Tuvalu
	Uganda
	United Kingdom
	Vanuatu
	Zambia
	Resident citizens of Zimbabwe, which withdrew from the Commonwealth in 2003, can also vote in UK parliamentary elections, as can resident citizens of Fiji, which was suspended from the Commonwealth in 2009.

ENERGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE

Conditions of Employment

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many staff were retained on zero-hour contracts by (a) his Department and (b) the executive agencies and non-departmental public bodies for which he is responsible in (i) 2010-11, (ii) 2011-12 and (iii) 2012-13; and if he will make a statement.

Gregory Barker: DECC has not employed staff on zero-hour contracts during the period outlined.
	This information is not held by the Department in respect of non-departmental public bodies.

Disciplinary Proceedings

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many staff were suspended from his Department and its associated public bodies on full pay in (a) 2010-11, (b) 2011-12 and (c) 2012-13; and what costs were incurred as a result of such suspensions.

Gregory Barker: We are unable to supply full details of suspensions, as authority to suspend staff is delegated to line managers in some circumstances and no central record is maintained.
	This information is not held by the Department of Energy and Climate Change in respect of non-departmental public bodies.

Energy: Barnsley

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate he has made of the average proportion of household expenditure on energy bills in (a) Barnsley and (b) Barnsley Central constituency in the latest period for which figures are available.

Gregory Barker: The latest available data cover the years 2009-11, which shows that during this period the average proportion of expenditure on electricity, gas and other fuels in Yorkshire and Humber, was 4.9%. This compares with 4.6% for the UK as a whole.
	These data are from the Living Costs and Food Survey, run by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Data from this survey are not available at a lower level than that of regions. Therefore data for Barnsley and Barnsley Central constituency are not available.

Energy: Meters

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what recent progress has been made on the introduction of smart meters into every home in the UK.

Gregory Barker: Joint working by DECC, the energy industry and stakeholders during the Foundation Stage of the Smart Metering Implementation programme has enabled good progress to be made. This includes:
	the process for procuring smart metering data and communications services, with bidders currently in the invitation to submit final tenders phase;
	the process for procuring the Data and Communications Company (DCC) licence holder, with bidders currently in the best and final offers phase;
	completion of the first and second EU notification of the technical specifications for smart gas and electricity meters and in-home displays (IHDs);
	establishment of the high level regulatory framework for roll-out, including regulations focused on consumer engagement and protection.
	We expect energy suppliers to be ready to start their full scale roll-out by autumn 2015, with mass roll-out of smart meters completed by the end of 2020.

Energy: Meters

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what enforcement measures are in place if a householder refuses to allow an energy company into the property to install a smart meter.

Michael Fallon: Energy companies will be required to install smart meters and take all reasonable steps to reach everyone. However, we do not expect energy companies to take legal action to fit a smart meter if they cannot get the householder's co-operation.

Energy: Prices

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what recent assessment he has made of trends on energy prices; and if he will make a statement.

Michael Fallon: In the publication ‘Estimated impacts of energy and climate change policies on energy prices and bills’ (March 2013) DECC presented recent trends in wholesale and retail energy prices. This is available at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/estimated-impacts-of-energy-and-climate-change-policies-on-energy-prices-and-bills
	Retail energy prices are published on both a monthly and annual basis by the Office for National Statistics, as part of their retail price index series. These data are then republished by DECC in our Quarterly Energy Prices publication. The data can be found here:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/monthly-domestic-energy-price-stastics
	The Government is helping households keep their energy bills down through our proposals to get consumers onto the cheapest tariffs and provision of nearly £1 million for the Big Energy Saving Network, the Green Deal and the Warm Home Discount which provides support to the most vulnerable consumers.

Green Deal Scheme: Wales

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many Green Deal (a) assessors, (b) providers and (c) installers are located in Wales.

Gregory Barker: The Green Deal Participant Register, with addresses of head offices for assessors, providers and installers, is made publically available by the Green Deal Oversight and Regulation Body (ORB). However the location of head office does not necessarily indicate where organisations operate. The consumer search tool on the ORB website:
	http://www.greendealorb.co.uk/find-a-green-deal-supplier/advanced
	allows you to search for assessors, providers and installers that operate in Wales.

Ministerial Policy Advisers

John Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many advisors who had previously worked at (a) British Gas, (b) EDF, (c) npower, (d) Scottish Power, (e) SSE and (f) E.ON have been engaged by his Department in each year since 2010.

Gregory Barker: Details of previous employers are held on individual staff files and are not held electronically. DECC would incur disproportionate costs in order to obtain the information requested.

Solar Power

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change with reference to his contribution of 24 May 2012, Official Report, column 1308, on feed-in tariffs scheme, and pursuant to his answer of 6 June 2013, Official Report, column 1650, on green investment, what his most recent estimate is of when solar PV will reach grid parity; what plans he has to mitigate the negative effect of EU import tariffs on the UK solar industry and associated businesses; if he will (a) run a public campaign in summer 2013 to highlight the benefits of solar panels to householders and businesses and (b) carry out a review of feed-in tariff (FIT) support and capacity triggers for non-domestic FIT bands for solar PV over 250 kilowatt; and if he will make a statement. [R]

Gregory Barker: The Department has not made an estimate of when solar PV will reach grid parity.
	I have been working with the Solar Trade Association (STA) and the British Photovoltaic Association (BPVA) to ensure that the UK's opposition to potential EU import tariffs is clearly heard. I have urged my counterparts in other member states to oppose the European Commission's proposals. Last month I led a delegation comprising the STA, BPVA and solar companies to Brussels to ensure that the Commission is fully aware of the UK's position and to provide evidence supporting our arguments.
	We have no plans for a Government-led campaign on solar PV, but we will co-operate fully with any industry-led campaign.
	We have recently completed the first comprehensive review of the feed-in tariff scheme. When I announced the policy in the House on 24 May 2012, Official Report, columns 1303-11, I made clear that large-scale deployment of solar will only be achieved if costs come down. There is no plan to review tariffs or the degression policy for any of the technologies supported by the FITs scheme at this time.

HEALTH

Alcoholic Drinks: Young People

Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people under 18 years of age in each (a) socio-economic and (b) gender group were admitted to hospital with suspected alcohol-induced conditions in (i) 2013 to date and (ii) each of the last three years.

Anna Soubry: The following table contains the sum of the estimated alcohol-related admissions, using attributable fractions for those aged under 18 years by socio-economic group and by gender for the years 2009-10 to 2011-12 and April 2012 to February 2013. It should be noted that data from April 2012 are provisional.
	Alcohol attributable fractions do not provide a count of episodes with an alcohol related diagnosis or cause code but rather an estimate of the numbers based on the proportion of diseases and injuries that can be wholly or partially attributed to alcohol.
	The attributable fractions are not applicable to children under 16. Therefore figures for this age group relate only to wholly-attributable admissions, where the attributable fraction is one.
	It should be noted that these data should not be described as a count of people as the same person may have been admitted on more than one occasion.
	
		
			 Sum of alcohol attributable fractions(1) for hospital admissions for people aged 17 and under by (a) socio-economic group(2) and (b) by gender for the years 2009-10 to 2011-12 and April 2012 to February 2013(3): Activity in English NHS Hospitals and English NHS commissioned activity in the independent sector 
			  2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 Provisional April 2012 to February 2013(4) 
			 Socio-economic group     
			 Least deprived 10% 778 754 710 630 
			 Less deprived 10% to 20% 892 843 795 671 
			 Less deprived 20% to 30% 903 894 869 737 
			 Less deprived 30% to 40% 958 916 885 701 
			 Less deprived 40% to 50% 1,037 986 984 830 
			 More deprived 40% to 50% 1,197 1,172 1,072 869 
			 More deprived 30% to 40% 1,346 1,325 1,171 851 
			 More deprived 20% to 30% 1,595 1,468 1,349 1,093 
			 More deprived 10% to 20% 1,852 1,669 1,583 1,181 
			 Most deprived 10% 2,126 2,165 1,784 1,458 
			 Unknown 147 139 102 93 
			      
			 Gender     
			 Male 5,838 5,563 5,089 3,846 
			 Female 6,993 6,769 6,217 5,268 
			 (1) Alcohol-related admissions The number of alcohol-related admissions is based on the methodology developed by the North West Public Health Observatory (NWPHO), which uses 48 indicators for alcohol-related illnesses, determining the proportion of a wide range of diseases and injuries that can be partly attributed to alcohol as well as those that are, by definition, wholly attributable to alcohol. Further information on these proportions can be found at: www.nwph.net/nwpho/publications/AlcoholAttributableFractions.pdf The application of the NWPHO methodology has recently been updated and is now available directly from HES. As such, information about episodes estimated to be alcohol related may be slightly different from previously published data. (2) Socio-economic group The socio-economic group used is derived from the Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD). IMD is a measure of multiple deprivation which ranks the relative deprivation of each area of England in a number domains (such as crime and income) and then combines the individual scores to produce a composite score for each area. The patient's residential postcode is then mapped to one of these areas, and summarised into 10 groups for presentation. The version of IMD used is appropriate to the years published, 2009-10 data use IMD the 2007 version, while later years use the 2010 version. For further details see: www.gov.uk/government/publications/english-indices-of-deprivation-2010 for further details. (3) Assessing growth through time HES figures are available from 1989-90 onwards. Changes to the figures over time need to be interpreted in the context of improvements in data quality and coverage (particularly in earlier years), improvements in coverage of independent sector activity (particularly from 2006-07) and changes In NHS practice. For example, apparent reductions in activity may be due to a number of procedures which may now be undertaken in out-patient settings and so no longer include in admitted patient HES data. (4) Provisional data The data are provisional and may be incomplete or contain errors for which no adjustments have yet been made. Counts produced from provisional data are likely to be lower than those generated for the same period in the final dataset. This shortfall will be most pronounced in the final month of the latest period, i.e. November from the (month 9) April to November extract. It is also probable that clinical data are not complete, which may in particular affect the last two months of any given period. There may also be errors due to coding inconsistencies that have not yet been investigated and corrected. Source: Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), Health and Social Care Information Centre

Health: Research

Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the effects on the Public Health Responsibility Deal of the findings of research carried out by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, which found that in order for such voluntary agreements to be effective they need to include robust independent monitoring and substantial disincentives for non-participation and sanctions for non-compliance.

Anna Soubry: The Department's Research and Development Directorate has commissioned leading researchers from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine to conduct an independent evaluation of the Public Health Responsibility Deal. The evaluation comprises two parts—the scoping study and the main evaluation.
	The Health Policy journal article, a copy of which has been placed in the Library, reports on the findings of a scoping review on voluntary agreements. It found that voluntary agreements, if properly implemented and monitored, can be an effective policy approach. The review findings will help inform the main evaluation which is currently under way. The evaluation will include formative research to help further develop the Responsibility Deal.

Muscular Dystrophy

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress has been made by NHS South on ensuring the long-term future of the neuromuscular care pathway co-ordinator and patient advocate post for the South East Coast region; and if he will make a statement.

Roger Gale: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress has been made by NHS South to secure the long-term future of the neuromuscular care pathway co-ordinator and patient advocate for the South Coast region; and if he will make a statement.

Norman Lamb: From April 2013 all services included within the Manual for Prescribed Specialised services are commissioned directly by NHS England. Services provided by Adult Neurosciences or Neurology Centres are included in the Manual and will be governed by the NHS England's national service specifications and include the role of a Regional Care Advisor embedded within the Centres. However, there remain critical interdependencies with other organisations and providers.
	The Muscular Dystrophy Campaign is working with both NHS England and Clinical Commissioning Groups on developing the patient pathway across the South East Coast. A vehicle for supporting this is the new strategic clinical network, which has a remit to provide clinical expertise and guidance to all commissioners on the whole care pathway, to ensure that NHS outcomes are delivered.
	The Care Pathway Coordinator post is employed by the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign. The former South East Coast Specialised Commissioning Group provided funding and oversight of this role, for a two year fixed term period. The aim of the post was to deliver the improvement plan contained within ‘Better Co-ordination: Better Care’ which was published in the autumn of 2010. NHS England has confirmed that the national health service specifications for specialised neuromuscular care services now cover the navigation of unclear and fractured care pathways, thereby negating the need for separately funded care advisers.

NHS: Conditions of Employment

Shabana Mahmood: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether his Department has considered developing an NHS Staff Outcomes Framework for the purpose of improvement in the care and support provided to staff by the NHS as an employer; and if he will make a statement.

Daniel Poulter: National health service trusts are responsible for the care and support they provide their staff. The Department has commissioned NHS Employers to support the NHS in implementing five high impact changes (HICs) to help them improve staff health and wellbeing. These HICs were developed following the 2009 Review NHS Health and Wellbeing which, the Department commissioned from occupational health specialist Dr Steve Boorman CBE.
	As a result the Department has not considered developing an NHS Staff Outcomes Framework for the purpose of improvement in the care and support provided to staff by the NHS as an employer. The purpose of the Outcomes Frameworks for the NHS, adult social care and public health is to focus on key measures for improving patient and client experience of these services.
	The five HICs, which NHS Employers is supporting NHS trusts in implementing are: developing local evidence based improvement plans; with strong visible leadership; supported by improved management capability; with access to better, local, high quality accredited occupational health services; where staff are encouraged and enabled to take more responsibility for their health.
	NHS Employers current main efforts to support NHS trusts implement the five HICs include: the identification; production, promotion and mobilisation of good practice; supporting more than 100 trusts, with most to "gain from reducing their sickness absence rates; developing performance in parts of the NHS with particular challenges e.g. mental health trusts; supporting the development of occupational health services and developing good practice on staff engagement.

Official Hospitality

Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much his Department has spent on refreshments since January 2013.

Daniel Poulter: The Department's policy is not to provide refreshments for internal meetings. These costs include the provision of refreshments for external meetings and visitors hosted in the Department's buildings. The Department has spent £119,808 (including VAT) on these types of refreshments since January 2013. The average monthly spending on refreshments has fallen from £78,131.55 in 2009-10 to £15,705.50 in the first two months of this financial year.

Speech and Language Disorders

Stephen McPartland: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to ensure that augmentative and alternative communication services are appropriately commissioned by NHS England.

Norman Lamb: NHS England is committed to ensuring national consistent commissioning of high quality, equitable and effective specialised services for our patients. The specialised services that fall within the direct commissioning of NHS England were agreed by Ministers in September 2012.
	From 1 April, NHS England became responsible for the direct commissioning of specialised assessment and provision of Augmentative and Assistive Communication Aids (AAC) for Adults, Children and Young People.
	Prior to 1 April, there was no national commissioning of AAC services. There was no standard or nationally consistent definition of those services that were the commissioning and funding responsibility of the national health service. The .effect of this was variation in how organisations commissioned and funded specialised AAC services and inequitable access to AAC services. There was a mix of non NHS commissioning agencies including social care and education sector, charity and third sector funding agencies who were commissioning the assessment and provision of specialised AAC aids.
	From 1 April 2013, specialised AAC assessment and provision is commissioned nationally by NHS England. A single NHS contract with specialised providers of AAC services will be held by one of 10 Area Teams (ATs). ATs will lead the contract and performance management of providers in their area for all specialised services for all patients in England, using a single national set of service specifications, standards, policies and quality measures.

Strokes

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what steps he is taking to increase access for patients in stroke units to psychological services; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what estimate he has made of the potential health and economic benefits of investment in psychological services for stroke survivors and the potential effect on rates of (a) cardiovascular disease and (b) mental health problems.

Anna Soubry: NHS England has responsibility for stroke services.
	The Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) Outcomes Strategy sets out that stroke services which incorporate psychological care deliver best outcomes for people who have had a stroke. There are also National Stroke Strategy recommendations and evidence based national guidance that patients should be routinely screened for mood and cognition after their stroke, and these recommendations are included in the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence quality standard on stroke.
	NHS Improving Quality will support Strategic Clinical Networks to implement the quality outcomes in the National Stroke Strategy and the CVD Outcomes Strategy. These include the delivery of psychological services where appropriate to patients who have suffered from a stroke.
	The CVD Outcomes Strategy also considers the economic benefits of investment in psychological services for CVD patients.
	The CVD Outcomes Strategy sets out key actions for commissioners and providers to improve outcomes in stroke and other CVDs and challenges the national health service to bring CVD outcomes up to the level of the best of the rest of the world.

Surgery

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his policy is on the publication of surgeons' performance data; and if he will make a statement.

Daniel Poulter: NHS England is committed to building a modern health and care data service through the care data programme, which will provide timely, accurate data linked across the different components of the patient journey and the outcomes resulting from treatment. This underpins the rights and pledges set out in the NHS Constitution, including the right to choose the most appropriate provider and setting of care. Part of this will include the NHS England’s planning document “Everyone Counts: Planning for patients 2013/14” offer of publishing consultant level quality and outcomes information for 10 key specialties by summer 2013.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Bahrain

Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights' report Protesters in Bahrain Behind Bars; and if he will make a statement.

Alistair Burt: I have not seen the report. The Bahrain Youth Society is an unregistered non-governmental organisation in Bahrain, and its credibility is untested.

Bahrain

Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the conviction of Mohammed Mirza in Bahrain and his subsequent treatment in detention.

Alistair Burt: We are not aware of the case of Mohammed Mirza.

Chemical Weapons Convention

Stephen Phillips: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment he has made of the efficacy of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons in implementing the Chemical Weapons Convention.

Alistair Burt: Since it was established in 1997, the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) has verifiably destroyed 78.57% of the world's declared stockpile of 71,196 metric tonnes of chemical agent; conducted 5,076 inspections on the territory of 86 States Parties; verified 100% of the declared chemical weapons stockpiles; and declared 100% of the chemical weapons production facilities as inactive.
	The United Kingdom continues to attach great importance to the OPCW and the role that it plays in the implementation of the Chemical Weapons Convention.

Mali

Lindsay Roy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the current political situation in Mali; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Simmonds: As the French and African-led military operation in Mali comes to an end and a UN Peacekeeping Operation prepares to deploy, a political settlement between north and south is needed to ensure long-term stability. Progress has been slow but steady. Burkina Faso, the lead mediators for the Economic Community of West African States, with the support of the international community, is currently brokering negotiations between the Malian transitional authorities and representatives of non-terrorist armed groups (including the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad—MNLA). The UK position has been clear throughout: the impasse over the MNLA's continued control of the northern city of Kidal must be solved through dialogue. We are hopeful that an inclusive political settlement, which recognises the territorial integrity of Mali, will soon be reached. This will represent a major step towards a sustainable peace agreement, which will enable national presidential elections to be held on 28 July, and provide the start to a long-term solution to the challenges facing Mali. Another important factor will be the work of the newly-created National Commission for Dialogue and Reconciliation.

Occupied Territories

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 3 June 2013, Official Report, column 862W, on Occupied Territories, what assessment he has made of the level of indirect finance provided by the Government to Israeli settlements through procurement, tax benefits or participation in bilateral programmes since 2005; and what assistance is planned for the future.

Alistair Burt: I refer the hon. Member to my answer of 3 June 2013, Official Report, column 862W. Due to the complexity and cost to the taxpayer, we have not made an assessment of possible indirect finance through the cited mechanisms since 2005.
	The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has no assistance planned for indirect finance of Israel settlements.

Occupied Territories

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 3 June 2013, Official Report, column 862W, on Occupied Territories, whether he has obtained legal advice on the due diligence required of the Government to avoid breaching international law through aiding and assisting illegal Israeli settlements by indirect payments via procurement, tax benefits or bilateral programmes.

Alistair Burt: Our position on Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories is clear: They are illegal under international law, an obstacle to peace and make a two-state solution, with Jerusalem as a shared capital, harder to achieve. The British Government ensures it acts in accordance with our international law obligations, but as the hon. Member will appreciate, in accordance with long-standing convention followed by successive governments, I am not able to comment on legal advice to Ministers.

Swaziland

James Duddridge: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of preparations for the forthcoming elections in Swaziland.

Mark Simmonds: We are deeply concerned about reduced freedom of political expression and increasing human rights violations in Swaziland, ahead of scheduled elections due to take place in the autumn. We also remain concerned about the continued refusal by the Government of Swaziland to engage in a genuine process of national dialogue about the role of political parties ahead of the elections. As I made clear in my reply to my hon. Friend’s question on 30 October 2012, Official Report, column 142, the UK continues to urge for alt political parties to be allowed to operate freely and participate in the forthcoming elections.

Tanzania

Paul Farrelly: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has received from UK investors regarding the current environment for foreign investment in Tanzania.

Mark Simmonds: UK investors have raised a number of challenges to doing business in Tanzania, including corruption, the weak legal and regulatory environment, and bureaucratic obstacles. We are committed to working to support the Government of Tanzania's efforts to address them, including through programmes run by the Department for International Development. I met representatives of UK businesses for discussion of the issues on my visit to Tanzania in March 2013.

Ukraine

Pauline Latham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make it his policy to work with the International Court of Justice to recognise the Ukrainian holodomor as genocide.

David Lidington: As I said during a Westminster Hall debate on 11 June 2013, Official Report, columns 25-30WH, Government policy is that recognition of genocides should be a matter for judicial decision and so it should be for judges, rather than Governments or non-judicial bodies, to make a designation of genocide. Such decisions should be based on a credible judicial process, and the courts are best placed to judge what are essentially criminal matters.
	The British Government will not forget or overlook what happened, and we will continue to demonstrate our solidarity with the people of Ukraine in remembering this tragedy.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Anti-Slavery Day

Angie Bray: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what plans she and Ministers in her Department have to mark Anti Slavery Day on 18 October 2013; and if she will take steps to ensure that Ministers and officials in her Department are offered opportunities to be involved in various events organised by her Department, local authorities and non-governmental organisations.

Justine Greening: DFID takes slavery and human trafficking very seriously. The Department will look carefully at ministerial and official activities to mark world slavery day.

Developing Countries: Food

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment she has made of the representations sent to the Prime Minister on 3 June 2013 from (a) African civil society organisations and the Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa and (b) the Coalition of UK Campaign Groups, regarding their concerns that the G8's New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition poses dangers to smallholder farmers and efforts to combat hunger in Africa, undermines the work of the UN Committee on Food Security and should be rejected in favour of alternative strategies to protect sustainable agricultural techniques already in development across Africa which puts food security before profits; and if she will make a statement.

Justine Greening: The UK Government believes the New Alliance can make an important contribution to tackling the underlying causes of poverty and hunger in Africa. Promoting growth in. African agriculture is critical in many countries to create jobs in rural areas, raise smallholder farmer incomes and to increase the availability and affordability of nutritious food. The New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition is a joint initiative involving African governments, African and global companies, donors and civil society organisations aimed at accelerating agriculture sector growth. Its topline goal is to lift 50 million out of poverty in Africa by 2022, by promoting increased responsible investment in African agriculture by smallholder farmers as well as small and large agribusinesses.

Developing Countries: Poliomyelitis

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development 
	(1)  what recent discussions she has had on the eradication of polio;
	(2)  what support her Department is offering the Global Polio Eradication Initiative.

Lynne Featherstone: DFID has been a long-standing contributor to the polio eradication effort and remains deeply committed to this goal. The Minister of State, the right hon. Member for Rutland and Melton (Mr Duncan), represented the UK at the Global Vaccine Summit in Abu Dhabi on 24-25 April 2013 where he announced a commitment of up to £300 million over six years for global polio eradication. DFID Ministers and officials are in frequent contact with Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) staff, and other stakeholders. A large proportion of the UK's £300 million commitment will be channelled through GPEI.

Developing Countries: Poliomyelitis

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will support the Global Polio Eradication Initiative by helping to enhance coordination between civilian and security services in target countries to (a) better inform the programme's local risk assessments and (b) provide security and protection of vaccinators and the programme's facilities.

Lynne Featherstone: DFID supports the Global Polio Eradication Initiative's 2013-18 Polio Eradication and Endgame Strategic Plan. DFID staff were involved in its development, and will monitor its implementation. The Plan has been designed to take specific operational challenges including security into account, and recognises the importance of mitigating and addressing the risks that the GPEI faces.

Developing Countries: Poliomyelitis

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will support the Global Polio Eradication Initiative by encouraging local demand for vaccinations by facilitating awareness-promotion programmes in target countries.

Lynne Featherstone: DFID supports the Global Polio Eradication Initiative's (GPEI) 2013-18 Polio Eradication and Endgame Strategic Plan. The Plan sets out a clear strategy to build demand for all vaccinations and to strengthen routine immunisation as well as polio vaccinations. It will be important to successful implementation of the strategy for GPEI and all partners, including country Governments, to improve communications and advocacy around best practice and lessons learned especially to build the acceptability of vaccinations in general among local communities. DFID staff were involved in the Plan's development and will monitor its implementation.

Developing Countries: Poliomyelitis

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will support the Global Polio Eradication Initiative by encouraging international, national and local Islamic leaders in (a) Pakistan and (b) Nigeria to promote the importance of polio eradication and the neutrality of health workers.

Lynne Featherstone: DFID recognises the important role for Islamic leaders in supporting the eradication of polio, including those activities that the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) is undertaking. GPEI's Islamic Advisory Council is a new forum set up to discuss ways in which Islamic leadership can help communities to ensure protection for all Muslim children in both countries. The UK supports this initiative.

Disciplinary Proceedings

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many staff were suspended from her Department and its associated public body on full pay in (a) 2010-11, (b) 2011-12 and (c) 2012-13; and what costs were incurred as a result of such suspensions.

Justine Greening: Information on the total number of staff (Home civil servants or staff appointed in country) suspended from DFID on full pay for the financial years 2010-11, 2011-12 and 2012-13 is provided in the following table. Where the total number of staff concerned is fewer than five we are unable to provide more specific data as this could potentially identify the individuals involved and so breach confidentiality.
	
		
			  Number of staff suspended 
			 2010-11 (1)— 
			 2011-12 (1)— 
			 2012-13 8 
			 (1) Under five. 
		
	
	All suspensions were on full pay for the period of the suspension and no additional costs were incurred.

Iran

Jonathan Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what representations she has made to the Iranian Government about its commitments under Article 3 of the 1958 Convention concerning Discrimination in Respect of Employment and Occupation and its treatment of the Baha'i community.

Alistair Burt: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Department for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs.
	Despite being a signatory to the 1958 Convention in Respect of Employment and Occupation and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Iranian regime systematically excludes Bahai's from economic and social participation and higher education. I have repeatedly expressed publicly my concern at the treatment of the Baha'i; and called on Iran to stop their persecution, and abide by its international obligations. I did this most recently on 14 May when I accepted an interfaith delegation's letter on the Baha'i and in the House of Commons on 18 June. We will continue to monitor closely the situation of the Baha'i in Iran and to condemn any violations of their rights.

St Helena

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many endemic invertebrate species will be affected by the St Helena airport project; and which of such species have global populations which are entirely located within the confines of the airport development area.

Lynne Featherstone: It is estimated that 54 endemic invertebrate species occur in the eastern arid area of St Helena, which includes Prosperous Bay Plain where the airport runway and terminal complex are to be located. 15 of these species are likely to be directly affected by the airport project, but only one species, the beetle Homoeodera scolytoides, has its known global population exclusively within the construction footprint of the airport.

Vietnam

Angie Bray: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development 
	(1)  what plans she has to enable established non-governmental organisations in Vietnam to support victims of human trafficking returning to their country of origin from the UK with accommodation, education and training;
	(2)  if she will consider funding a network of non-governmental organisations in Vietnam to provide accommodation, education and training for victims of human trafficking returning to their country of origin from the UK.

Lynne Featherstone: Through the Returns and Reintegration Fund (RRF), DFID provides financial support to two non-governmental organisations to implement pilot projects to support Vietnamese returnees, including those from the UK. The forms of support include assistance with accommodation, training, and some basic skills to help them better integrate back in to society after their return. This effort is being led by the British embassy in Vietnam.
	Though DFID bilateral aid programme in Vietnam does not have any existing or planned programme to directly support such activity, we do however provide funds specifically targeted at supporting the gender work of United Nations (UN) agencies, especially UN Women. The focus of those activities is on ensuring the effective implementation of Vietnam's gender equality law and law on domestic violence, which will consequently help reduce women trafficking and other abuses.

CABINET OFFICE

Government Contracts

John Spellar: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what steps he is taking to assist British firms to secure Government contracts.

Chloe Smith: The Government is providing industry with visibility of up to £79 billion of potential procurement opportunities across 18 sectors by publishing pipelines of future demand, meaning that British firms will be in a good position to gear up in order to deliver Government's needs.
	In addition, we are working with businesses to identify and address any key capabilities needed to meet future demand; actively helping them to remove barriers; and supporting growth through additional benefits that boost exports and drive innovation.

Government Contracts

Jeremy Lefroy: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what recent steps he has taken to give small- and medium-sized enterprises greater access to Government contracts. [Official Report, 24 June 2013, Vol. 565, c. 1-2MC.]

Chloe Smith: It is this Government's policy to increase the Government's direct spend with SMEs to 25% and spend with SMEs across Government has steadily increased since 2010 as a result of the steps we have taken. We have required all Departments to put in place plans to ensure that their spend with small companies continues to increase.

Civil Service: Diversity

Nia Griffith: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what steps he is taking to increase diversity in the civil service.

Francis Maude: To win the global race we need world-class civil servants providing excellent services and the best possible value for the taxpayer. By recruiting on merit the civil service can draw its pool of talent from a wide range of backgrounds.
	The civil service is already diverse and the majority of staff are women. I am working with senior officials to improve talent management to ensure the most effective and capable can get to the top.

Charity Commission

Helen Jones: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what recent discussions he has had on the work of the Charity Commission.

Nick Hurd: I discuss, the important work of the Charity Commission regularly with its chair, William Shawcross. Our most recent meeting took place last week.

Charitable Organisations: Financial Prospects

Sarah Champion: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what discussions he has had with the heads of charitable organisations on their financial prospects in the next 12 months.

Nick Hurd: I have regular discussions with voluntary and community sector leaders and the outlook is mixed. The environment continues to be very tough but recent quarterly statistics from the Charity Commission shows charitable income has grown by 4.4% in the year to March.
	Official Statistics also suggest that giving of money is stable and volunteering has grown. Finally, a new pillar of funding for the sector—social investment—is showing encouraging signs of growth.

Public Sector Pay Cap

Dominic Raab: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what steps he is taking to ensure compliance with the pay cap in the public sector.

Francis Maude: I instructed my officials to provide Departments with guidance on the application of the 1% pay cap at the time of the Chancellor's announcement and to monitor the application of Government pay policy in Departments.
	We have worked to ensure Departments consistently apply public sector pay policy for their work force and I can confirm that the policy is being applied across the civil service.

Efficiency and Reform Group

Rehman Chishti: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what savings to the public purse have resulted from the work of his Department's efficiency and reform group to date.

Chloe Smith: In May 2010 this Government inherited the biggest fiscal deficit of any developed country as a proportion of GDP. We took swift action to address inherited levels of waste and inefficiency. As a result:
	In 2010-11 the Government reported savings of £3.75 billion.
	In 2011-12 the Government built on this success delivering savings totalling £5.5 billion.
	And only this month the Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General, my right hon. Friend the Member for Horsham (Mr Maude), was able to report savings totalling £10 billion, which were made in 2012-13. This is 25% over our £8 billion target.

Big Society Network

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office pursuant to the answer of 3 June 2013, Official Report, columns 956-7W, on Big Society Network, what the purpose was of each grant or contract the Big Society Network and its subsidiaries received; what evaluation has been concluded as to whether the objectives behind each contract and grant have been achieved; he will make a statement.

Nick Hurd: holding answer 10 June 2013
	Grant agreements and contracts were made with Big Society Network and the funding was paid to their charitable arm, the Society Network Foundation.
	In 2012, £199,900 of the allocated £299,800 in grant funding was paid to the Society Network Foundation to deliver the 'Get In' campaign, which aims to increase children's fitness levels through physical activity and uses volunteers as a means to achieve this. In accordance with Social Investment Business' standard process, Society Network Foundation were required to submit three pieces of evidence to demonstrate satisfactory progress against their objectives—management accounts, confirmation of monies spent in accordance with the grant agreement and progress against expected outcomes.
	A decision was made to put the project on hold in December 2012 as, despite considerable activity, they had not yet achieved enough progress against stated objectives. No further part of the allocated grant was paid. The Cabinet Office has now taken the decision to end support for this project, giving priority to other social action.
	In 2012-13, £350,000 was paid to Society Network Foundation for the delivery of aspects of the Big Society Awards and promotion of the Big Society. Objectives under this grant agreement were achieved.
	In 2012-13, a contract for £12,000 of services relating to the Giving Summit was awarded. Objectives under this contract were achieved.
	In the current financial year the Cabinet Office has awarded grant funding of £150,000 to the Society Network Foundation for delivery of aspects of the Big Society Awards. The first performance report under this grant agreement is not yet due.

Charities

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many registered charities there are in (a) Barnsley Central, (b) South Yorkshire and (c) England.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the Charity Commission. I have asked the Commission's chief executive to reply.
	Letter from Sam Younger, dated 18 June 2013
	I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking how many charities there are in Barnsley Central, South Yorkshire and England respectively.
	There are 140 charities registered in Barnsley Central and 2,256 in South Yorkshire.
	The Charity Commission is the regulator for charities in England and Wales, in total there are 163,083 charities on the register. We estimate that approximately 7,800 of these have correspondence addresses in Wales, the remaining will have correspondence addresses in England.

Charities

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what plans he has to make the Charity Commission refer applications to become charities to HM Revenue and Customs before organisations are accepted onto the register.

Nick Hurd: All charities that wish to benefit from UK charity and donor tax exemptions and reliefs must apply to HM Revenue and Customs.
	The Charity Commission and HM Revenue and Customs are considering better ways to share information and work together to tackle abuse of charity—such as a single point of submission for applications to HMRC and the Charity Commission, recommended by Lord Hodgson in his report on his review of the Charities Act 2006.

Charities

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office on how many occasions the Charity Commission has passed information to law enforcement authorities which has led to a prosecution in each year since 2010.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the Charity Commission, have asked the Commission's chief executive to reply.
	Letter from Sam Younger, dated 18 June 2013
	I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question on how many occasions the Charity Commission has passed information to law enforcement authorities which has led to a prosecution in each year since 2010.
	The following refers to the number of times we have passed information to law enforcement agencies such as the police, but also including the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau, HMRC and others, in each year since 2010.
	2010/11: 832
	2011/12: 735
	2012/13: 1,164
	2013/14: 258 (since April 1)
	As a non-prosecuting authority we do not hold figures for prosecutions, the police hold these. A manual search has shown that, over the past three years, we have also made over 30 referrals about suspected serious criminal activity connected to charities to the police and other law enforcement agencies. Our staff have also provided over 100 police witness statements. For example, in July 2012 Tyrone Pooley, a former charity trustee of the charity Fund for the Blind and Partially Sighted (now removed from our register) was convicted of charges of theft and supplying false/misleading information to the Commission as a result of our referral to the police.
	We have further examples of action we have taken that has led to prosecutions in our annual report that will be laid before Parliament ahead of recess. You will receive a copy of this report, which will also be made available on our website:
	www.charitycommission.gov.uk

ICT

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many (a) computers, (b) mobile telephones, (c) BlackBerrys and (d) other pieces of IT equipment were lost or stolen from his Department in (i) 2010-11, (ii) 2011-12 and (iii) 2012-13; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Hurd: As was the case under the previous Administration, there are occasional incidents where equipment is reported lost or stolen. Staff are required to report such incidents, and cases are investigated. Laptops which will hold sensitive equipment are encrypted and mobile phones disabled as soon as an incident is reported.
	It is not possible to make a like-for-like comparison for the period covered by this question because there has been a substantial increase in the number of mobile phones and laptops issued to staff and the Department has been affected by various machinery of government changes.
	Details of items for the Cabinet Office are as follows:
	
		
			 Items 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 
			 Computers/laptops 1 9 15 
			 Mobile phones/BlackBerrys 5 28 59 
			 Other IT equipment 0 2 10

Ministerial Policy Advisers

John Robertson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many advisers who had previously worked at (a) British Gas, (b) EDF, (c) npower, (d) Scottish Power, (e) SSE and (f) E.ON have been engaged by the Prime Minister's Office in each year since 2010.

Francis Maude: The Prime Minister's Office is an integral part of Cabinet Office. The information requested is not held centrally.

PRIME MINISTER

ICT

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Prime Minister how many (a) computers, (b) mobile telephones, (c) BlackBerrys and (d) other pieces of IT equipment were lost or stolen from No. 10 Downing Street in (i) 2010-11, (ii) 2011-12 and (iii) 2012-13; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Hurd: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Cabinet Office.
	As was the case under the previous Administration, there are occasional incidents where equipment is reported lost or stolen. Staff are required to report such incidents, and cases are investigated. Laptops which will hold sensitive equipment are encrypted and mobile phones disabled as soon as an incident is reported.
	It is not possible to make a like-for-like comparison for the period covered by this question because there has been a substantial increase in the number of mobile phones and laptops issued to staff and the Department has been affected by various machinery of government changes.
	Details of items for the Cabinet Office are as follows:
	
		
			 Items 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 
			 Computers/laptops 1 9 15 
			 Mobile phones/BlackBerrys 5 28 59 
			 Other IT equipment 0 2 10